Darkstalkers' Memories
by ZombieAxeHero
Summary: Adam Kratos has woken up countries away from home after being seemingly murdered at the hands of vampires, and to his misfortune, his memory has been split into thirteen pieces and embedded into thirteen Darkstalkers. Little does he know that this has happened for a reason. What reason is what he intends to find out.
1. Forever Young

_And here we have the promised Darkstalkers fanfic I've been working on. Just like with Next Gen, I'm going to upload three chapters every update and try to update both this and Subspecies at the same time. Just don't count on too much getting put up._

_I've really been tossing this idea around in my head, too. I've never played any of the Darkstalkers games, but I have played some of the Capcom Vs. games with Morrigan in them, notably Tatsunoko vs Capcom (I REALLY want Marvel vs Capcom 3!). This is sort of like Next Gen where I create my own character and pair them up with an existing character, but unlike in Next Gen, the OC is the central character this time._

_And for most of the story, you play the same part as him: trying to figure out what the hell is going on._

Chapter One

**Forever Young**

"No…no. Get away from me, witch….AGH!"

Adam Kratos screamed out in terror and woke up with a start. He took a moment to catch his breath, and then sighed out of relief.

He had been having another nightmare about the same creature: a mysterious woman with gigantic bat wings and a figure that even the most beautiful woman in Demezoi would be envious of. He wouldn't compare the creature to Aphrodite, considering the Greeks had abandoned theories of any god but God Himself many years ago, and after all; would you worship a woman who would go to great lengths to cheat on her husband? Adam certainly wouldn't.

It was strange…the creature had been appearing in his dreams for the past two weeks. Each time, she had said something along the lines of "Let me take you," or "give in to your desires, Adam," in the most seductive voice he had ever heard. A succubus? Most likely. In any case, he ran from her, but she gave chase. He always woke up before she could catch him, however.

Adam looked at the grotesque stump on his side where his right arm should have been. He didn't know why he didn't have another arm. His mother claimed he was born without one. Not that he minded. The prosthetic one that Cecil Matri, the local blacksmith, made for him worked just as well as a real arm could. Cecil was an amazing builder, but he never revealed his secrets to anyone but his son Eric. Like father, like son.

Just then, Adam's bedroom door was opened. In walked his best friend, Morrigan. He didn't know her last name simply because she never told him. Either she couldn't remember it, or she didn't have one. From what he knew, she had washed up on the shore almost ten years ago and had been living here in Demezoi ever since. The villagers had been very excited to see such a beautiful girl appear on their shores, and had raised her like their own. After all, it takes a village to raise a child.

"Oh, you're already up?" she asked with a warm smile. "Now I don't have to shake you awake again."

Adam smiled back at the girl. Morrigan liked to joke a lot, and usually she was very funny.

"So what're we gonna do today?" asked Adam. "Hey, where's Mom?"

"I think she's out by the ocean talking with the fishermen. They're all getting ready for the big celebration at midnight."

For a moment, Adam had no idea what Morrigan was talking about, but then he smiled when he remembered what it was.

Tomorrow was his eighteenth birthday. Since he was the eldest child in Demezoi, there was to be a big party at midnight tonight in his honour. It was then that he would be gifted with the most sacred of the village's tools.

"So I'm finally getting Enotita, huh?" he thought.

That was what it was called. Enotita (Unity in Greek) was a sword that had been made as much as a millennium ago by the most skilled blacksmith in all of Europe. Apparently, Enotita had been wielded by many sacred heroes. A few legends even stated that King Leonidas had once touched it as a child before he was given the throne of Sparta.

"So what were you hoping for this year?" Morrigan asked.

"Well, I've got a map of the whole island, my own compass…what more do I need?" Adam answered as he got out of bed. "Pass me my arm, would ya?"

Morrigan handed him the prosthetic arm lying on the table across the room. Adam carefully attached one end to the stump sticking out of his body. It tightened, and then a few prongs sank into his skin before he could move the arm. He strained his face as the prongs bit into his flesh. It always hurt, but nowadays he was relatively used to it.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. I was hoping you wouldn't want anything too exceptional." Morrigan replied.

"Guess you got your wish, then."

Adam got out of bed and stretched for a moment. As Morrigan watched him strain his face, she couldn't help but feel her seductive urges quell up inside her, and she literally had to reach back and pinch her own arm to keep herself from pinning him to the ground (He was very strong, so he'd be able to have her on her back in seconds, anyway).

Adam slipped on the worker's shirt that he wore every day and then put on his leather boots.

"So where to today?" he asked.

One word always put a smile on their faces: exploration. They loved to explore the rainforest near the village, and often they'd go swimming in the lagoon (where Morrigan would once again be afflicted by her urges, seeing him top-naked). If there was one thing that they could both be described as, it was adventurous.

"Hey, it's YOUR birthday." Morrigan replied. "You get to pick this time."

"To the lagoon, then?"

"To the lagoon!"

The two walked out through the front door of the small four-room house that they lived in and out into the grassy square of Demezoi. Adam squinted as he stepped outside and shielded his eyes from the sun for a few moments. He didn't know why, but unlike the other villagers, he detested sunlight. His skin was an unusually pale color, and his thick and shaggy black hair hung down over one of his eyes. These traits were very uncommon for a Demezonian, but his mother had simply assured him that he was a special boy. Other than having the right and strength to wield Enotita, Adam had no idea what that meant.

But he didn't let it bother him. Each child in the village was given the birthright to a certain weapon that had found its way into the clutches of the Demezonians. As soon as he and his lovely companion were out of the house, they were immediately greeted by the second-oldest child in the village.

"Hey, Adam!" Eric shouted as he ran over to Adam and Morrigan.

Eric was another good friend of Adam's. As the son of Cecil, he had the right to the sacred daggers, Phos and Skia (which meant light and shadow in Greek), but since he had only turned sixteen about two months ago, he still had two years to go before he got them. His hair was dark brown and was of average length, and his body was of an average build, though he was quite a bit shorter than Adam.

"'Morning, Eric." Adam replied with an immediate smile on his face. "Has Cecil been talking about the huge get-together?"

"Yeah. The whole village is getting ready for it. They haven't been this excited since Morrigan washed up here."

"Oh, come now, Eric." Morrigan said smiling. "You're embarrassing me."

"You embarrassed? Yeah, right. So where do you think you'll go on your journey?"

That was another tradition. Each man and women who came of age left the island for about a year on a journey across the nearby continents that most had only been told stories about. Most desired to go far to the east to a small island-like country called Japan. They had all been told that it was one of the most advanced countries in the world, and since none of the Demezonians currently on the island had ever seen technology, the children were all eager to grow up so they could go see it.

"Well…I'm not sure…Japan DOES sound nice…but I was thinking of going to Romania…maybe hunt vampires."

Eric groaned, while Morrigan's face fell. She always grew very sad when Adam said he wanted to hunt vampires. She had been by his side since he was eight years old, and he never seemed like the killer type.

"You're not still dwelling on the dad you never knew, are you?" asked Eric.

"It's nothing. I never knew him, so it's not like I can feel sorry for myself."

"Right. Anyway, Dad needs me to help him set the place up for the festivities. See you later!"

With that, he ran off.

"Quite an enthusiastic fella, isn't he?" Morrigan remarked.

"You don't know the half of it. C'mon , let's go."

The two ran off through the village, getting a hearty "Good morning" from everyone they passed. They waved in return, but didn't stop as they ran right to the forest.

**SOON ENOUGH…**

They had reached the mouth of the forest within five minutes, and right away, Adam began looking around at the canopy.

"You're planning on vine-swinging again?" Morrigan asked with a light smirk.

"What? It's fun! And it's convenient. Aha!" Adam said as he spotted a loose vine and looked back at Morrigan, who in turn rolled her eyes and climbed onto his back.

"I'll never forgive you if you drop me."

"Heh. You've been saying that since we were thirteen."

"With good reason."

"You've been saying that for ages, too. Hold on tight."

With that, they swung through the jungle, Adam grabbing the next vine to continue, and the next one and the one after that. Before long, they were approaching the lagoon and Adam mischievously grinned at Morrigan.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Oh, no! Don't you dare do that again!"

"Do it?"

"No!"

"Okay, doin' it!"

"No, DON'T do it!"

He did it.

It being he let go of the vine right as they were over the lagoon, and with Morrigan still on his back screaming, he plummeted into the water. The heat of the day faded instantly once he hit the cool blue water, but Morrigan was a little less pleased by his decision.

"You jerk!" she laughed, lightly punching him on the arm.

"Hey, c'mon, we both know you think that's fun, too!" Adam chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's set our clothes in that patch of sun over there so they can dry off."

When Morrigan turned around and swam toward the edge of the lagoon to take her clothes off, Adam covered his eyes. He didn't know why, but every time she did this, she treated it like an event, as though she were deliberately trying to sexually arouse him. Fortunately, she never found out that he wasn't actually looking at her, otherwise she'd question him about it and he'd have to answer. For some reason, lying to Morrigan was impossible. If she even thought you were exaggerating even just a little, she'd stare at you until you told her the exact truth or until you looked away. She was a smart girl, and Adam couldn't deny that she was a lot smarter than he was. At least she didn't shove it down his throat all the time.

Once he was sure Morrigan was about to turn around, he dropped his hand. All she wore now was a white bra that just barely clung to her and a thong that Adam didn't even want to risk looking at. He knew it was there, but he didn't dare look.

"Now you." she said, crossing her arms with a smirk and raising an eyebrow.

"…now?"

"Yes now."

Adam sighed, slowly reached down, and pulled off his shirt.

"Three, two, one…" he counted.

"GOTCHA!" Morrigan yelled.

Adam ducked and Morrigan flew harmlessly over him, splashing down a few feet behind him. Adam popped back up and laughed.

"Aha! Told you I wasn't gonna get tripped up by that forever!"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"None, because I don't know if I've told you this, but lately you've been putting on a lot of weight."

That was one way to get Morrigan mad, and it really hit her hard this time.

"You little tramp!" she seethed before lunging at him.

"I'm ready for ya!"

She grappled him, hopped on his shoulders and shoved him under the water. As she suspected but hadn't thought about before reacting semi-violently, Adam got his arms around her legs and dragged her down with him. They surfaced and shared a laugh before embracing.

"I don't care if it's your birthday tomorrow. You've got no right to say that to me."

"Hey, it's all just some good fun, right?"

"Heh. Yeah. I guess it is."

They swam over to the side of the lagoon and Adam tossed his clothes up on the bank before they both took deep breathes and dove under the water. Underneath, they could see beautifully shining rocks along with luminescent fungi, as well as a few small fish flitting about here and there. They kicked their way down to the bottom, where Adam dug around until he unearthed a glowing stone from underneath the mud. They kicked back up to take a breath of air and swam over to the bank to rest their backs against it.

"Remember when we first met?" Adam asked. "How I was just sitting here after hearing that these rocks could glow and trying to do it myself?"

Morrigan chuckled.

"Of course. I stumbled up to you and the rock started glowing right in your hands. You jumped up and screamed like a little girl."

"…No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did! I said hello and you were at a loss for words for about a minute before you tripped and fell in the water and I had to fish you out, and then you started bombarding me with questions."

"I still don't know to this day how you could have the physique of a grown woman when you were only eight years old."

"Maybe what they say about girls maturing faster than boys is true."

"Yeah, right. YOU more mature than ME. That's a…"

Morrigan splashed him with a ton of water before he could finish the sentence. He shook it off, looked at her funny for less than a second, and dove at her. She playfully shrieked, and for the next few hours, they ran about the lagoon, diving after each other, pushing each other under the water, and splashing just like a pair of kids in the bathtub. Uncontrollable fun. That's all that was had.

A few hours after the sun had set behind the horizon, the two pulled themselves up onto the bank to dry off. It would be a while considering it was nearly midnight, but a while was what Morrigan wanted. She laid her cheek done an Adam's bare chest and kept it there for a moment, trying to take in as much as she could without seeming like she really wanted to let him have it. Adam meanwhile had his arm around her shoulders, staring up at the starry sky.

"This is just so weird…" Adam muttered.

"What is?" asked Morrigan without raising her head.

"I'm almost eighteen. In just a couple days, I'm gonna have to go on that year-long journey."

"What's wrong with that?"

Adam sighed, sat up and slipped his shirt back on. He looked Morrigan dead in the eye and grimaced.

"It feels like my whole life's been leading up to this just so I can go out and avenge my father's death…I never even knew him, but I still feel like it's something I have to do."

Morrigan got a worried look as she slipped her own clothes back on. He was at it again, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Tell me again…how your father died."

"Like always, it's only from what my mother told me, but he was killed by a vampire named Demitri Maximoff."

Morrigan shuddered. She knew that name, but not in the way Adam was thinking. Adam continued with the story.

"It was just a few weeks before I was born. My mother and father were walking home from this lagoon when Maximoff swooped in out of nowhere and went straight for Mom. Dad jumped in the way and got bitten, and while he fought off Maximoff, Mom ran home as fast as she could. When Dad didn't come home, she…she just knew that…"

Adam felt just underneath his eye and came up with a single tear. He scoffed.

"Funny…I never even knew the guy and I can still cry over his death."

Morrigan wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"It's okay. I think I know what the real reason is."

"What real reason?"

"The real reason for you being sad. You don't want to leave me all alone."

Adam smiled.

"Hit the nail right on the head there, kiddo. Mom, Cecil, Eric…I'm gonna miss 'em…most of all you."

"If only I could just go with you."

"More like if only I hadn't grown up so fast. Ever wish that you could just be young forever?"

"Only every day."

Adam smiled even more when Morrigan sweetly closed her eyes and pushed her cheek towards him.

"Okay, but just one, alright?"

"Whatever you like."

He leaned over and gently kissed her cheek. She really liked it whenever he displayed his friendship with her in affectionate ways, whether a peck on the cheek or a pat on the head. To Adam's confusion, she never let him kiss her on the lips. Not that he really wanted to, anyway. The thought of it sort of embarrassed him. Maybe it embarrassed her, too, which would be quite shocking considering her somewhat suggestive nature, but hey. To each his own…or rather HER own.

Right as he finished the kiss, the bell back at the town tolled 12 times. It was midnight. It was his eighteenth birthday. he looked up at the starry sky again and smiled. Just being here under the stars with his best friend in the whole world really made him feel more at home than ever.

"You wanna know something, Morrigan?" he said, keeping his gaze up at the heavens. "I think this adventure is going to be really great. I'll make new friends, I'll go places I've never gone…I might even get to visit that Japan country the kids keep talking about. Hell, I might even find the woman I'll marry one day…heh. Then again, there could just as easily be one right…here…Morrigan?"

When he turned to see how she was taking this, he was surprised and disappointed to find that she was no longer there. He smirked.

"Probably went back to help get whatever surprise the village has panned ready."

He got up, stretched and began walking back to the village. But then he stopped and sniffed.

"That smells like…smoke."

He looked toward the source. It was coming from the village, but it was far too big to be an ordinary campfire.

"That could mean…oh, no!"


	2. The First Time He Died

Chapter Two

**The First Time He Died**

"Damn you, Demitri." Morrigan panted as she zipped through the bushes. "I don't know what you wanted with this village, but if I had known what you were up to, I would've sliced you into ribbons right on the spot. Then I could have just gone and made friends with Adam."

She skidded to a halt once she had reached the mouth of the forest and saw in shock exactly what she was afraid she'd see: vampires. Dozens of them, all burning down houses, grabbing innocent people and sinking their gluttonous fangs into them. It made Morrigan sick. She ran up to the nearest one, grabbed it, flipped it over her shoulder, and stabbed it right through the heart with the thorny rope that just tore its way out of her shirt. The vampire let out a loud growling noise before falling limp.

"Filthy beast." she seethed.

She quickly knelt down next to the person the vampire had bitten and cradled his head. It was the local shaman. The bite wound looked very bad, and he already appeared to be succumbing to it.

"M-Morrigaaann…." he moaned.

"Don't talk." she said, laying a hand on his forehead. "You need to save your strength."

The shaman lightly smiled.

"What for? I'm dead, anyway."

"No…don't say things like that."

"Morrigan…the children…you must save the children!"

Before he could say anything more, he succumbed to death. Morrigan wearily closed her eyes and gently closed his with her fingers.

"Rest in peace." she whispered. "…well, there's three words I never thought I'd say."

She stood back up and jumped in the air. For a moment, she was suspended in mid-air as her clothes began to melt away and leave her seemingly naked before another set of clothing faded in to cover her up. The outfit consisted of a black leotard that exposed a quite risqué amount of cleavage (with a small heart shape cut out right in the middle of it) with long violet stockings reaching up to her thighs, stencilled with bats. A pair of fingerless violet gloves hand slipped on over her hands, and on her feet she wore what appeared to be black high heels. As she landed back on the ground, four bat wings appeared: two large ones jutting out from her back that seemed to have a twelve-foot wingspan, and two small ones that popped up on her head.

"Feels good to be back in familiar attire." she said before she dashed right at the next vampire. "SHADOW BLADE!"

Her right wing and right arm meshed together to form a strange looking blade and she stabbed it right through the vampire's chest before hurling away from the group of defenseless children.

"Hurry!" she yelled. "Get to the dock! You have to get off the island before you get hurt!"

"But…what about you?!" one of them asked.  
"Don't worry about me! Go now!"

The children ran away as quickly as they could with Morrigan fighting back any of the vampires that even tried to get close to them.

"Adam…please be safe…"

**Across the village…**

"What's going on…what are these things?!" Eric sputtered.

He and his father had been getting ready to bring over their gift to Adam when suddenly something had run inside and jumped at them. It was probably one of the most hideous things Eric had ever seen in his life, and while Cecil prepared to fight the creature off with one of his trademark blades, he yelled at Eric to get to the dock and get off the island.

Eric felt a tear drop from his eye. He didn't know how his father was going to survive a battle against whatever that creature was, and he knew he wasn't ready to leave the island. Why was this happening?

He didn't have any time to question himself further when he stopped in his tracks and saw someone toss aside the body of one of the vampires. She turned around and Eric was shocked to see that it was…

"Morrigan!" he stammered before looking at the wings sprouting from her back.

Morrigan followed his gaze and realized that his hopes had just been crushed. She looked back at him with a worried look.

"Eric, I can explain…"

"You…you're one of them?!"

"No! No, of course not!"

"…all this time…you were a monster. I knew there was something strange about you but never in a million years did I think this was it."

"Eric, please…"

"PHOS AND SKIA!"

He held up his two hands and two daggers came surging into them, one elegant and glowing white, and the other demented-looking and glowing dark purple. It was the two daggers he had the birthright to, but Morrigan knew he was too young to wield them.

"I'll make you pay for this…" Eric seethed.

"What, you think I did this?!"

"Enough talk! Die, monster!"

Eric ran forward, but right as he took a swing at her, he got a painful feeling in his hands. He yelled out in pain and dropped them on the ground.

"Of course…I'm not eighteen…these weapons are useless to me."

Nevertheless, he took a swing at Morrigan's head with his fist, but…

"SOUL FIST!" Morrigan yelled, pressing her hand to Eric's chest.

A massive surge of energy came out of Morrigan's hand, sending Eric sprawling backwards onto his rear end.

"Eric…I didn't want to do that." Morrigan said, pointing her finger at him. "Don't make me have to do it again."

She grew even more upset when she saw that Eric was in tears.

"Why…why would you do this to us…we took you in and raised you like one of our own and this is how you repay us?!"

"Eric, I had nothing to do with this."

"Oh, yeah?! Prove it!"

Morrigan grimaced. She couldn't, because truth be told she DID have something to do with this, but not in the way Eric was thinking. Before she could say anymore, however, a loud slashing sound had echoed out of nowhere.

"Undead bastards!" a voice yelled. "Taste my blade!"

It was Adam. He had taken Enotita from its pedestal and was cutting down each and every one of the vampires. Eric took that moment to jump on top of Morrigan and take numerous shots at her face. Morrigan dodged them with nearly no effort before bringing her knee up between Eric's legs and slamming hard. Eric crumpled off of her, gasping for breath.

"Go to the dock, Eric." Morrigan said as she got up. "It's the only chance you have now."

Morrigan immediately began to rush forward, but a group of vampires surrounded her before she could make it to Adam.

"No…not now! I have to help him!"

Much to her horror, one of the vampires targeting Adam had found Skia lying in the grass. It picked it up and turned it over in its hands, inspecting the strange way it was built before looking at Adam and smiling evilly.

"Don't you dare!" Morrigan yelled before rushing forward through the crowd surrounding her.

The vampire slashed her across the face as soon she came near, forcing her to fall down on the grass clutching at where the blade had made contact. At that moment, one the vampires managed to sink its teeth right into Adam's jugular, but much to Morrigan and Eric's surprise, instead of crumpling to the ground, he slowly turned his head and glared at the vampire before seizing its neck in one hand and clenching it, sending a revolting snapping sound through the air.

He continued to slash away, stabbing this one, upper-cutting that one, never stopping even to take a breath. One second was all they would need to finish him off. But one thing that kept stirring in his mind as he continued to fight them off was how he had taken no harm from the bite. Anyone else would have been on their knees slowly succumbing to it as the vampire sucked all their blood out, but he was still standing and slashing away.

That is, until he heard another vampire approach him from behind. As soon as he turned around to attack, he managed to pierce the vampire's heart with his blade, but not before the vampire had embedded Skia into Adam's heart, as well.

"NO!" Morrigan and Eric screamed.

All the vampires were dead as the stabbing one fell the ground, Adam falling onto his back along with it. He weakly looked over at Eric, who had gone to hiding behind some bushes nearby

"Run, Eric…save….yourself…."

Tears ran down Eric's face as he realized he had no choice in the matter. He grabbed Phos and ran away as fast as he could. After seeing the dark dagger kill the greatest boy he'd ever known, there was no way he'd take it.

Morrigan meanwhile knelt down beside her fallen friend and tearfully lifted the dagger out of his chest. He weakly looked up into her eyes and struggled to lift his hand. Morrigan slowly took it and brought it up to her cheek, holding it there and trying to take in as much of the warmth of his hand as she could.

"Morrigan…go with them." he rasped. "You need to make your own path now."

"Not without you…" Morrigan sobbed. "I…I can't bear to think about it."

"Y'know…somehow I knew you'd say that. How ironic…I didn't really want to go on the journey, so God kills me off to stop me from doing it."

He sighed and looked up at the sky again.

"Nothing I can do about it, I suppose."

Morrigan's terrible feeling began to return when Adam's eyes started to close.

"Adam…please stay with me…" she whispered. "Don't abandon me…don't leave me all alone in the world…"

It did no good. Adam's eyes closed and out came his last breath. He was gone.

Morrigan's tears flooded her eyes and dripped onto her lifeless friend's corpse.

"The only boy I ever really cared about…and now he's gone…this is all my fault."

**A few minutes later**

Morrigan let out one last burst of sobbing as she dropped Adam's body into the lagoon and watched it sink to the bottom. She had made sure to close his hand around the glowstone he had with him when they first met before she let go.

"Adam…if only I wasn't a succubus…I could be the woman you would marry."

She wiped the tears away before flapping her wings and flying away from the island as fast as she could. She noticed as she flew away that a windstorm had picked up out at sea. She just hoped that the children that she had saved were alright.

"It's better off if I just stay out of their lives from now on. It's my fault their families are gone, anyway."

Little did she know that a figure stood below, watching her fly away.

"Morrigan Aensland." he smiled villainously. "So you CAN love after all. Quite a pity you made a deal that you knew nothing of. Now…now the true show begins."


	3. Regaining Long Lost Consciousness

Chapter Three

**Regaining Long Lost Consciousness**

"Adam Kratos, wake up!" said a voice echoing in Adam's ears.

Adam himself yelled out in shock and sat up. For so long, he'd been having a strange dream that he was falling through an endless night sky. He didn't know what it meant or anything, but…it was all he could remember.

"Where…am I?" he asked.

"You are in a church just north of Hinode, Japan." the voice said. "I am Sister Sophia."

Adam looked around. He was indeed in a church, but one that had a circular window high above him with sunlight streaming down onto him. There were no benches, and creeping up the doors and walls were vines that didn't stop until they reached the huge window above him. Behind him was a large statue of Jesus on the cross, and only now did Adam see that there was a woman standing in front of him. She was garbed in a monk's hood that shaded her face and gave her a slightly regal look from its white-and-gold colour. It occurred to him that this was the woman who had spoken, so he stood up and walked over to her. She was just barely taller than him.

She spoke before he could say a thing.

"How much of your past are you aware of?" she asked.

"My…past?...all I remember was this strange feeling like…like I was being born all over again."

"In all honesty, you were. Your body was reshaping itself throughout the course of an entire year. You were stabbed in the heart by this."

She pulled Skia out of her robe and showed it to him. Turning it over in his hand, Adam spotted a large amount of blood caking it. He felt at his chest. There was no sign of a wound.

"So I'm dead?"

"You WERE dead. You've been resurrected for a reason I cannot explain."

Adam inspected the dagger for a few seconds before placing it in the sheath that went with it and putting it in his pocket.

"Why did you show this to me?" he demanded. "Why can't I remember dying? I think with something like that I'd probably have SOME recollection of it."

"I cannot explain at the moment."

"CAN not or WILL not?"

"Cannot. I need you to go to the town below and search for a man named Ryu Hoshi. Bring him back here and I will tell you everything you wish to know."

"Not much of a choice in the matter, is there?"

"I would say not. Be on your way and hurry back."

Adam didn't question her any further. He simply walked over to the massive doors and pried them open. The sunlight poured in and he shielded his eyes as he stepped outside and shut the doors behind him. He inhaled through his nose. The cool breeze felt good on his skin.

"Guess getting some fresh air really helps shake off being dead for a year." he thought. "Well, here goes nothin'."

He proceeded down the path to the huge city below, not taking notice that Sister Sophia was watching him from the window of the church.

"Be safe, Adam." she whispered.

**Down in unfamiliar territory…**

"Excuse me! Damn, he's still going…excuse me?!" Adam called out to random people passing him, all of whom continued to walk due to either not seeing him or not caring.

Adam sighed and placed his hands on his hips. Finding this Ryu guy was going to be a lot harder than he thought. For one thing, no one was paying any attention to him, and for another, everyone in the crowd was speaking a language he couldn't understand.

"Will someone at least TRY to listen to me? Jeez…"

Suddenly, he was grabbed by his hair and pulled into a dirty alleyway where he found himself with a knife to his throat, only to have his captor say something he couldn't understand.

"For goodness sake, doesn't anybody speak English?!" Adam yelled.

Suddenly, the knife was off of him and his captor was tossed aside into a brick wall, knocking him out. Adam looked up and got a view of the person who just rescued him.

The man was in his early to mid-twenties with jet black hair and a red headband tied around it. He wore a grey T-shirt and blue denim jeans, but Adam could see a white karate gi underneath the shirt. The man also appeared to be wearing red sparring gloves.

"You really shouldn't be going around these streets by yourself if you don't know how to defend yourself, buddy." the man said with a smile and crossed arms.

"Thanks for the heads-up." Adam replied, getting to his feet. "Just good to finally know that SOMEONE in this town speaks English."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Adam…I guess."

"You guess?"

"I can't really explain right now. I'm looking for someone named Ryu Hoshi."

"Ryu Hoshi…well you're in luck. That's me. But what do you need me for?"

"I need you to come with me."

Ryu looked at him with a suspicious look.

"And why should I?"

"I don't know. I was just told to come get you."

"You working for Bison or something?"  
"Who?"

"Never mind…how good a fighter are you?"

"Uhh…I don't know. A decent one, I suppose."

"Good, 'cause you'll need all the strength you can muster up to beat me."

"Eh?"  
"You heard me. If you can beat me in a fight, then I'll go with you."

"Umm…okay, but is fighting really the only way to solve this problem?"  
"It is if you're gonna prove to me you're trustworthy. Let's go."

Ryu sank into a fighting stance, bobbing back and forth and the balls of his feet. Adam hesitantly did the same, holding his prosthetic arm out in front seeing as that would likely block better.

"Nice arm." Ryu remarked. "Where'd you get it?"

"…I don't know."

"Tell me something you DO know, then."

Ryu blasted forward with a front kick. Adam ducked and Ryu flew harmlessly over him. Adam retaliated by throwing a heavy punch with his prosthetic arm. To his surprise, Ryu grabbed it and flipped him over his shoulder and onto the ground, where he attempted a punch to the face. Adam narrowly rolled away and jumped to his feet, but just when he raised his leg to bring it down on Ryu's back…

"SHORYUKEN!" Ryu yelled.

Ryu shot up with his fist outstretched, nailing Adam in the chin and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"What in the…ow…" Adam groaned.

Ryu smirked.

"One hit? That wasn't even my top signature move."

"Signature moves? And you have how many?"

"About six."

"Great…can't wait to get hit by the rest of 'em."

Adam got his feet and ducked under Ryu's incoming attack before rolling around behind im and performing a powerful flip kick, hitting Ryu's back and sending him to the ground. Ryu rolled back to his feet almost instantly and focused back on his opponent.

"Not bad, kid. I think you could make some signature moves yourself."

"Would be nice if I knew exactly what it was I could do."

Ryu suddenly wound up his legs and came spinning toward Adam with his right foot sticking out.

"TATSUMAKI SENPUU KICK!" he yelled.

Instead of trying to dodge, Adam held up his prosthetic arm to block the blow. When Ryu's foot made contact, it forced Adam back a little bit, but he still held.

"Alright, very good!" Ryu remarked. "You're learning to stand your ground instead of flee."

"Whoa, hold up now. You sound like you're training me!"

"I just realized that if you were working for some sort of organization related to Bison at all, you would've been able to fight that gone off on your own. Either that or you'd rip his throat out like Juri would have done?"

"Who?"

"No one you need to worry about."

"Didn't that hurt just now?"

"Yes, but that's another part of standing your ground: blocking out the pain. My foot really smarts right now but I can't let that come between me and victory."

Suddenly, Ryu crouched back and pressed his palms together.

"Try to counter this!" he instructed.

As if by magic, a ball of blue energy began to appear in Ryu's hands as he parted them, and he suddenly shoved his palms forward.

"HADOKEN!"

The sphere grew as large as Adam's torso and came flying at him. All at once, Adam felt like he knew what to do. He crouched back and held up his hands.

"AURA PARRY!"

The sphere slammed into Adam's hands, but instead of knocking him back, Adam waved his hands around , wavering the energy around until it shifted from blue to violet to blood red. Finally, he stood up and shot his prosthetic hand forward with his fingers outstretched in a claw-like manner.

"GREAT SOUL BEAM!"

A gigantic beam of energy fired from his palm, but Ryu was quick to jump over it and bring his leg down onto Adam's shoulder. Adam himself let out a loud shout when he felt his shoulder shift painfully in the socket, nearly dislocating it. He fell to the ground in near defeat.

"Good strategy." Ryu said as he crouched down to help Adam up. "But don't always assume your opponent isn't going to figure out a better one."

He pressed his hand up to Adam's shoulder and pushed it back into place.

"OW!" Adam hollered.

"Block out the pain. You're not out unless you let yourself go out, and it doesn't hurt unless you let it hurt."

"Words to live by…"

Adam got a grip again, and the two of them got into a clash, with them throwing punches, blocking, ducking, flipping away and kicking, or doing anything but hitting each other directly. Before long, Adam attempted to fake a hit. Sadly, Ryu didn't fall for it and got a good shot to his face.

"Nice hit…"

"Fighting is like acting: sometimes you gotta improvise."

Adam ducked under Ryu's roundhouse kick, hopped over his sweep kick and blocked his uppercut. His attempted palm strike was blocked and countered with a chop, which was also blocked and countered with a sweep kick. Ryu got a hold on Adam's shirt on tossed him toward a nearby wall, but Adam was quick to slam his prosthetic arm against the wall and shot forward again. Ryu simply held out his hand for Adam to run into it, but to his satisfaction, Adam rolled underneath it and sweep kicked his legs.

"Good! You're learning to anticipate your opponent's next move!"

"And you didn't even need to tell me it was important. Guess I'm a faster learner than I thought."

"That you are. Let's see if you learned from this."

He flipped backward and…

"SHINKU…HADOKEN!"

Out fired a massive surge of blue energy from Ryu's stretched out palms. Adam readied himself and…

"GREAT SOUL BEAM!"

The red energy wave flew from his palm, and the two beams connected. Both opponents resisted as best as they could, pushing against the energy blasts until finally the combined energies interlaced and faded with a blinding flash, forcing Ryu to shield his eyes. When the light cleared enough for him to see again, Adam surged forward and nailed him in the chin, knocking him up into the air and onto the ground.

When Ryu didn't get up right away, Adam immediately dashed toward Ryu to see if he was okay, when suddenly…

"SHORYUKEN!"

Adam prepared to block it, but Ryu remained crouched with the friendly smile still on his face.

"Impressive. You were prepared."

"Yeah…so are we gonna continue to kick each other's asses or have we made our points?"

"The latter."

Ryu held out his hand. Adam returned the gesture.

"Alright, then." Ryu said. "Where to?"

"You see that church up there on the hill?"

"Yep. There's a rumour going around that the joint is haunted."  
"Well, it's not, and I need you to come up there with me."

"You gonna sacrifice me to the devil or is this to show how Christ died for our sins?"

"I have no idea."

"Do you have any idea about anything?"

"Nope."

"Let's go."

_(__**RYU HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

"I'm back, and with the guy you wanted." Adam called into the church as he and Ryu pried the doors open.

"Sheesh. Certainly looks haunted to me."

"It's not…not that I would know. Sister Sophia?"

"I am here, Adam Kratos." Sister Sophia said as she stepped out of the shadows. "And good day to you, Ryu Hoshi."

"And you know my name how?" Ryu asked.

"How is not important. You are a key component to Adam's quest."

"Quest?!" Adam sputtered. "What quest? A quest to figure out what's going on, because that would be pretty great right about now!"

"It is."

"Please continue."

"I will ask again, Adam," Sister Sophia began. "What do you recall of your past?"

"…nothing."

"Nothing?" Ryu asked. "You've got amnesia."

"Sadly, this is not amnesia." Sister Sophia sighed. "Adam's memory has been split into pieces and distributed amongst varies beings. The proper term is scattered.

"Okay, and what do I have to with this?"

"Absolutely nothing.

"…then why am I here?!"

"Because Adam could use some help getting his memories back."

Adam rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

"Can we stop pondering over why Ryu is here and get the facts across so I can get this 'quest' underway? C'mon. Today!"

"I will try to explain to the best of my ability, but I don't know much more than you. An unknown force has separated your memory into pieces and has been embedded into thirteen creatures of the night known as Darkstalkers."

"Darkstalkers…real creative name there." Ryu smirked. "Sounds like a gang of superheroes."

Sister Sophia shot him a dirty look before turning back to Adam.

"In order to regain your memories," the priestess continued. "You will have to find and defeat each of these beings one by one. However, they will only reveal themselves at separate times, thus requiring you to stay in this city until such time that you have recovered your entire memory."

"So this'll take even longer than I thought." Adam sighed. "Alright, where's the first one?"

"She is in hiding in a cave underneath a plateau to the south of this city. A gateway to this cave will appear at approximately 7 p.m. tonight. You will go there alone and wait for her."

"Okay, so I…wait, alone? What about Ryu helping me?"

"This sort of battle is one you will have to face on your own."

"…quite. Anyway, anything I'll need to beat her?"  
"Two things: this mask…"

Sister Sophia handed him a black leather mask. Adam looked over it for a few minutes, glanced at her with a confused look, and then slipped it on.

"How do I look?" he asked Ryu.

"Like a deranged serial killer." Ryu laughed.

"Funny."

"And secondly," Sophia continued. "You will need this."

Adam suddenly felt behind him, and sure enough, there was Enotita in a sheath brilliantly glowing red on his back.

"Alrighty, then...don't know where the hell that came from, but I'll suspend my disbelief just this once." he said. "So…what's the mask for?"

"The Darkstalker in question is a succubus. If she is able to see your entire face, she will bring you under her spell in seconds."

"Right, so I go to this plateau, wait for the gateway to open, go inside, and kill this succubus to get some of my memory back."

"Defeat her if you must but do not kill her. I fear that doing that will bring you great pain. And be warned: when you uncover all the pieces of your memory, it will show you a very painful sight, indeed."

"Right, fantastic. Talking about pain right before I go to fight a demon. I'm off, then."

"You'll probably need as much help as you can get to get this thing done." Ryu said. "Tell you what: I'll go back to town and give my friend a call. She's on her way here, anyway. Says there's some criminal syndicate that she's been looking to bust for a while now. I'm sure she'll be able to help us."

"Just hope this succubus chick doesn't kill me." Adam cynically remarked as he pried the doors open.

"Succubus, eh?" Adam thought as he walked in the direction Sister Sophia had pointed out. "Why not kill her? It would save a lot of guys' lives. I'm sure the last thing they want is to be fu…never mind."

_The LAST thing they want? I don't know about that._

_Confused yet? If yes, don't worry: elightenment will be coming at...some point or another. If no, don't worry: you will be...you will be..._

_Oh, and why did I cross Street Fighter over with Darkstalkers? Because I can and I'm not the first one to do it. Muahaha, did this joke already, moving on, see you next update, bye._


	4. Reunions

Chapter Four

**Reunions**

"Okay, and this should be said plateau." Adam said, climbing onto the elevated stone platform standing in the middle of a grassy field. "Now…how do I know when it's 7 p.m.?"

**15 minutes later**

"Okay…maybe a few more minutes…won't be long now, peeps, won't be long."

**One half hour later**

"Okay…getting a little pissed off here…let's get this show on the road, please. I'd appreciate it, thanks…who am I talking to?"

Probably me. Shall I speed it up? I who types phrases into Microsoft Word, you who sits around waiting for my command?

**1 hour later**

"FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, CAN WE SPEED IT UP HERE?! I HAVEN'T GOT ALL NIGHT!"

It's called humour, pal. In a story like this, humour is wholly welcomed.

"Funny for you, maybe, but…wait…who the hell is reading this other than you?!"

Well, if you're gonna yell at me, let's have the floor drop out from underneath you in three, two…

"WHAT?!"

I'm kidding.

"…I hate you."

Or am I?

Adam yelled out in surprise as he fell through the hole that suddenly appeared underneath his feet, falling until he hit his back. He squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for the pain slip down his spine, but it didn't.

That's when Adam felt at the terrain underneath him. It was soft, bouncy, and tender, almost like that of a b

"A bed?"

Uhhh, yeah…that's EXACTLY what I was gonna say.

Adam turned over on his stomach and felt at it. It was indeed a bed. A blanket to be more specific. Even odder was that he felt something else weighing down the bed. Adam made a tug at the blanket. Not three seconds after he had tugged, it was tugged back. He looked forward and spotted something up ahead underneath the blanket. HE stood up and began slowly walking towards it, his fingers drumming against Enotita's hilt the whole way.

"Bad feeling, bad feeling, bad feeling…" he muttered.

When he finally stood over what was there, he nearly climbed under the covers with it. Lying under the blood red blanket was a lovely young maiden with emerald green hair, and she appeared to be wearing absolutely nothing, covering herself up by clenching the blanket against her body, albeit so tightly that Adam could see the curves underneath.

"Good God, she's gorgeous…hold up. Is it just me or does she look familiar?"

Hard to believe he'd forget someone like Morrigan, but he has a decent excuse, so we'll let it slide.

He knelt down to try and get a better look at her. Her lovely eyes were closed so lightly that it looked like anything could wake her up, but that theory was easily disproven when Adam gently touched her cheek. At first, it was as cold as ice, almost as though Morrigan was dead, but the longer he kept his hand there, the warmer it got. He was so wrapped up in feeling her soft skin and gazing at her well-sculpted face, he hardly noticed a small smile stretch across her face. Once he saw it, though, he gasped out in surprise and scooted backwards as Morrigan's eyes slowly fluttered open and she groggily sat up.

"Hello, handsome." she said before covering her mouth and letting out a tired yawn. "Oh, please excuse me. You caught in the middle of my nap."

Adam said nothing and tried his hardest not to stare at her luscious figure just barely concealed by the blanket. It almost seemed like Morrigan was teasing him with it.

"Now what's a cute guy like you doing out here all by yourself this time of night? Aren't children supposed to be in bed? ...Sort of answered my own question, didn't I?"

Adam stood up and reached behind him, grabbing his blade's hilt. "You the succubus chick I've been sent after?"

"Succubus chick, human chick. They're both women, aren't they? And what do women do?"

When Adam didn't answer, Morrigan chuckled and unveiled her wings.

"Women make men feel good, among other things."

She stood and let the blanket fall. Fortunately for Adam's sake, she wasn't naked and had been wearing her trademark outfit underneath, though that too was a little more risqué than Adam was hoping it would be. Confident that she had gotten Adam good and flustered, Morrigan began seductively walking toward him, putting as much hip movement into her strides as she could.

"Stay back!" Adam yelled, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. "Stay back or I swear I'll…"

"You'll kill me?" Morrigan asked, tilting her head in mock curiosity. "But I've done nothing wrong to you…not yet."

Adam kept stepping backward and away from Morrigan. For some reason even he couldn't explain, he didn't unsheathe the blade. Perhaps he genuinely didn't want to hurt her, or perhaps he was frightened by the way she was looking at him.

"But why are you wearing a mask?" Morrigan questioned, Adam realizing in terror that she was now standing right in front of him and that he had walked to the edge of the bed and was right up against the cave wall. "You don't want me to see your hunky face?"

"…"

"C'mon…let me sneak a peek."

Morrigan pressed her hands against the wall beside Adam's shoulders, and was about ready to press her whole torso up against him when something happened that she half-expected: he bent down into a football-like crouch and charged forward, slamming into Morrigan and pinning her to the ground. She blew her hair out of her face and smiled.

"Can't say I didn't see that coming."

"Shit…" Adam thought in the back of his head.

Morrigan clenched him against her with her legs and arms, and just to make sure he couldn't get away, she got her wings around him, too.

"What're you gonna do now, hon?" she asked.

Adam smirked under the mask.

"This."

He wrapped his arms around her legs and stood up, spinning in circles until he finally chucked her away. Morrigan simply began flapping her wings and flew over him.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

Adam gritted his teeth and this time didn't hold back, drawing his blade and pointing it at her.

"So how long are we gonna wait to get this fight goin', 'cause I haven't got all night." he shouted cockily.

"Let the party begin, then. SHADOW BLADE!"

She surged down towards after blending her wing and arm together. Adam blocked and brought his knee up into her stomach while simultaneously bringing his prosthetic elbow done on her back. Morrigan let out no shout of pain, but she still felt unnerved at the feeling of her bones nearly cracking from the impact as she stood up, clutching her stomach.

"Easy, sweets. You're too rough. You're gonna break me in half if you keep playing like that."

"That's the whole idea." Adam growled back before lunging at her with his blade raised.

Morrigan rushed him again, morphing her wings into darted ropes and swinging them at him like whips. Adam rolled in between a few of them, then just barely managed to shift his torso quickly enough to dodge the rest save the last one, which he grabbed and used to yank Morrigan back down to his level. The succubus responded by reassembling her wings, zipping toward him, and pulling him up into the air with her, marvelling Adam at how strong she was.

"You don't need to be too scared. I'm not mad that you're trying to kill me. Many men have tried to kill me before, but they always changed their minds once I was finished with them." she cooed. "I'll forgive you if you gimme a big kiss."

"Like I'd kiss you!"

"Well, do me a favour: tell me why you want to kill me."

"I don't think you'd understand."

"A tall, dark, and handsome man not willing to reveal his motives? That just makes me wanna try harder!"

Before she had time to do anything else, Adam furiously grasped her neck and started squeezing as hard as he could, hoping that if he choked her long enough, she'd pass out and he could then figure out how to get his memories back from her, but to his surprise, she began smiling.

"Taking someone's life is just proof that you love them. So go on…squeeze the life out of me."

Just hearing that was enough to make Adam let go of her and fall back to the bed. He didn't know why, but he had suddenly welled up feelings of both guilt and fear once she had said that.

"Oh, I see. You're not a killer. That just makes you even weaker in my eyes."

She giggled and floated down to gently rub Adam's cheek.

"That's alright. I kind of have a thing for weak guys like you."

"I'm not weak…"

"Sorry, but you look pretty weak to me."

"SHUT UP!"

All at once, Adam was furious. He left the sword lying there and kicked Morrigan off him before jumping at her with his fist raised. Morrigan rolled out of the way before jumping to her feet and…

"SOUL FIST!"

The sphere of energy shot from her fist and soared right at Adam.

"AURA PARRY! RAPID SPIRIT FIRE!"

Adam shifted his arms forward and backward faster than the eye could see after he had parried Morrigan's attack, launching numerous small energy spheres at her. She simply draped her wings in front of her and blocked them before rushing forward and grabbing Adam, pulling him up off the ground again. For a moment, it seemed like she was about to yank the mask off and kiss him, but then she played dirty pool again by flipping over and spiralling back to the ground, slamming Adam headfirst into the ground.

"Doesn't hurt too much, does it?" she asked.

"I'll show you hurting too much!"

First thing was first: Adam poked her in the eyes, forcing her to let go of him. Next, he used a swift uppercut to the chin to knock her into the air before jumping up after her and kicking her in the stomach, sending her careening into the wall. Finally, once she had slid down enough, he charged at her with his prosthetic shoulder sticking forward and slammed right into her.

Or rather, he tried to, but she recovered and flew out of the way, resulting in him just slamming into the wall and leaving himself wide open for attack, and once Morrigan had plowed into him and pressed him against the wall with her chest, he knew he needed to think of something to bring her down quickly. Otherwise he'd just be fighting for a lost cause.

"You sure are a feisty one. Crafty, too." Morrigan commented before nuzzling his neck with her nose. "But I guess that's just it: young men like to use force."

Adam said nothing. He kept thinking.

"Her advantage: flight. My advantage: her ego…and that just might be it."

"Y'know, I'm not sure if you've been in contact with the human world for a while, but I'm sure someone would tell you that you need to lose some weight."

Once Morrigan let that echo in her head for a few moments of silence, it irritated her for two reasons. One: the fact that he had the guts to say that to her, and two: because it reminded her off…

"No tears." she thought nearly sadly. "I'm not going to think about it anymore. He's not coming back no matter how much I cry."

Then she shook herself back to reality and morphed her wing again.

"I was gonna let you get off without a hitch, but just for saying that, I'm gonna slit your damn throat."

"I already died once. I ain't dying again!" Adam countered before jutting his elbow into her chest, forcing her back enough for him to get loose, roll between her legs and pick up his sword. As soon as Morrigan blasted toward him again, he performed a powerful spin attack and managed to cut Morrigan across the cheek, leaving a very bloody gash. She stumbled backward, giving Adam enough time to rush forward and get a good shot to her face and once she was in the air…

"GREAT SOUL BEAM!"

Out came the beam and there went Morrigan crashing into the wall and crumpling back to the ground, sitting there with a dazed look in her eyes and looking like she had just fallen of a bike. Adam walked over to her cockily and pointed his blade at her.

"Couldn't have just quit while you were ahead, could you?" he mocked.

"Maybe you forgot," Morrigan panted. "I don't need to fight to bring you down."

All at once, she had hopped onto his torso and locked herself onto him with her thighs, this time trying to get at his bare neck. Whether to bite it or kiss it, Adam didn't know and didn't care.

"So that's how you're gonna play it, huh?"

He did the easiest thing: he flopped down on his front, pressing all his weight down on Morrigan and nearly breaking her rib cage. When he got off, he saw that she was a beaten mess. She seemed to have hit her head on the wall, and now a small trickle of blood was coming down her forehead.

Ruthlessly, Adam raised his blade to finish the job, but Morrigan was cowering up against the wall almost instantly, holding one hand against her heart and the other up at Adam's face.

"Please…don't kill me. I give up…you win…"

Adam was about to bring the blade down on her when he looked into her large and lovely eyes. All at once, his anger ceased. His brow lowered and took on a sympathetic look. He lowered the blade and dropped it.

Then he began to get suspicious. Not of the way she was acting because he was fairly certain there was no way she'd be able to defeat him now, but of her in general. Something about her just made him feel like he had seen her before. He got down on his knees, levelling his face with hers, and asked the question point-blank.

"You seem very familiar…have we met before?"

He brushed some of the hair off her forehead and laid his hand on it. Then it all came at him at once. He began seeing a younger version of himself standing in front of a younger version of Morrigan, steadily getting older the more they talked to each other.

"**I'm Morrigan! What's your name?"**

"**A..Adam Kratos."**

"**Hehehe! Are you nervous?"**

"**No! What's there to be nervous about?!"**

"What is this…are these my memories?" he thought.

"**Adam…I wanna stay with you forever."**

"**Forever's a long time, Morrigan. We're not going to live that long, either."**

"**I know that, but I just don't ever wanna leave your side."**

Here the younger Adam laughed.

"**Okay. I promise to be with you 'til the day I die."**

"**Thank you, Adam."**

"So I DO know her…wait, who's this?" he asked when another young boy appeared with them. "Wait…it's…Eric!"

The vision stopped and Adam began clutching at his own forehead, trying to make sense of what had just happened. When he lowered his hand, he took another stern look at the succubus that lay weakened in front of him, and he said something that got her attention.

"Morrigan…looks like I kept my promise."

Morrigan looked up with confusion.

"Wha…who are you?"

Adam grabbed the hem of the mask and pulled it off, revealing his face. Morrigan gasped at what she saw and right away felt tears of joy running down her cheeks.

"A…Adam?! But…you're dead!"

"Guess again, 'best friend'." Adam replied with a smile.

Morrigan threw her arms around her old friend and held on tight, not daring for even a moment to let go. Adam happily returned the embrace, satisfied that the first thing he remembered was her.

"How? How are you here…I watched you die right in my arms." Morrigan half-sobbed.

"What does that matter?" Adam said softly, stroking her head. "Bottom line is that I'm back, and I'll be with you forever. And hey! It's good to know I died with you there to hold me."

Morrigan drew back, still keeping a grip on him but looking confused.

"What do you mean?"

It took him a moment to explain.

"Your memory's been scattered? How?"

"Beats me. All I remember is you and…Eric! Is he okay?!"

Morrigan bit her lip nervously. It wasn't that she thought Eric might not be okay. It was that she was remembering the harsh words he had said to her that night. They had been echoing in her head every time she thought about it.

"I'll make you pay for this…". That was the worst out of all of them. The fact that he had pulled two knives on her was even more unnerving.

Still, she gave her answer.

"That last I saw of him, he was okay. He escaped from the island safely."

"Escaped? What happened to the island?"

"I…I myself can't really explain it."

Adam shook it off.

"Well, whatever. What do you say we get outta here and head back to town?"

Morrigan smiled and embraced her friend again.

"Yes."

_**(MORRIGAN HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

"Hey, there you are, Adam!" Ryu called. "I was gettin' worried that you WHOA, NELLY!"

He had to shake himself into of submission once he got a load of Morrigan.

"I thought you were gonna KILL the chick."

"Well, turns out she's my best friend, so I didn't. There a problem with that?"

"None that I can see…hey, wait a minute. Have I seen you before?"

Morrigan got another confused look.

"I don't think so…but now that you mention it, you DO look pretty familiar." she said, coming closer to get a better look at him.

"Yeah…I keep having this weird memory stuck in my head about you and me fighting off some guy in a red-and-blue suit that could shoot spider webs out of his wrists."

"Y'know…come to think of it, I kinda remember something like that, too. Ain't that the funniest thing?"

"Okay, can we get back to the main point here?" Adam said. "Where's the next Darkstalker?"

"Yeah, about that." Ryu replied. "The priestess said that they're keeping their auras hidden for some reason, but she does know that most of them are near or within the city. She'll give you a telepathic message when she knws where one is."

"Huh. Great. Now what?"

"What we should have done before. We need to get you out of those clothes."

"Eh? What for?"

"You didn't notice how everyone was staring at that huge bloody scar on your chest or the fact that your right arm is made of metal?"

"…good point. Let's go. We could get Morrigan some new clothes, too. Don't want anyone to know she's a succubus."

"Awww…" Morrigan whined. "Why not? A lot of people like succubi."

"Correct, but priests and exorcists don't." Ryu replied.

"…point taken."

**One change of clothes later…**

"Alrighty, kids. Lookin' snazzy!" Ryu said.

Adam had taken to wearing a pair of loose-fitting jeans, a tight white T-shirt with a huge black stain-like design along the hem, and a leather jacket. Morrigan had gone for a pair of silver bellbottoms and a white leather business-like suit that was opened to show off a black bra (don't ask).

"So what do you guys wanna do now?" Ryu asked.

"We should probably get a room at the inn." Morrigan suggested. "I mean, it's getting pretty late."

"Yeah…hold on. What's goin' on over there?" Adam pointed out.

Ryu and Morrigan followed his gaze until they saw that he was glancing at a huge stage. There were tens of thousands of cheering people, as well as flashing lights all over.

"Looks like a concert." Ryu replied. "…oh, yeah! That must be Felicity House. I heard they were playing here but I didn't think they were holding a free show right out in the open."

"Felicity House?" Adam asked.

"They're a rock band made up entirely of catwomen. Most of them aren't even teenagers yet."

"Weird…hey, is that…no, it couldn't be…"

He had spotted someone behind the stage as they approached. It was a boy that looked about seventeen years old. His hair was extremely shaggy and brown, and for clothes, he wore a tight black T-shirt, torn jeans with a studded belt, a studded bracelet on one hand and a watch on the other, and loose red sneakers.

Once he turned around from the machine he was tampering with behind the stage, Adam knew exactly who it was.

"ERIC!" he yelled.

Eric looked up when he heard his name being called.

"That voice…"

The moment he saw Adam running toward him, he dropped his wrench and closed the gap with a huge brotherly hug.

"Adam! But…"

"How? I have no idea, but hey! I'm back!"

"You picked a good time and place, too! The kids back home always said they wanted to go to Japan and here we are!"

"Uhh….we did?"

"Don't play dumb with me! We both know that!"

"I guess I have to tell you now, huh?"

Ain't that gettin' redundant? He took a few moments to explain.

"You don't remember anything?" Eric asked in minor disbelief. He wasn't one to believe such ridiculous things, but he'd seen stranger. That, and Adam almost never lied.

"Nothing but you and Morrigan."

"Morrigan?! She's here?!"

"Eric!" Morrigan said happily as she came up to him along with Ryu. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh…hi, Morrigan. I…I work for the band. I'm the roadie." Eric replied in disappointment, trying not to glare.

"Cool…what's a roadie?"

"The guy who works all the technical stuff. Smoke machines, lights, lasers, all that jazz."

"Awesome! Can we get a tour?"

"Uhh…sure. Adam and guy-I don't-know, go on ahead. I need to talk to Morrigan."

"Name's Ryu. Nice to meet you, too." Ryu replied as he proceeded with Adam backstage while Morrigan remained behind with Eric.

Morrigan smirked at Eric.

"So what's this about, sweetie?" she asked. "You wanna give me a big hug, too?"

He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then pulled up the hem of his shirt and unsheathed Phos as fast as he could, pointing it at Morrigan and stepping toward her in a threatening way.

"Listen up, succubus." he growled. "Adam may have forgotten what you did, but I haven't."

"I told you I…"

"Shut up! I don't care what you have to say. I saw it with my own eyes and smooth talking your way out of this isn't gonna work. I'd strike you down right now, but Adam would kill me. So let me get something straight right away: you destroyed my village and probably killed my father, so until you can magically prove you're innocent, I am not your friend anymore. And if you ever try to pull any of your seductive tricks on me or Adam, I'll expose you for the monster you are. Understand?"

Morrigan said nothing. She kept the same frightened look on every second he was talking and responded with a slow nod when he was finally done. Eric sheathed the knife and walked away scornfully, and Morrigan nervously followed him behind the stage.

Adam and Ryu were looking out at the eight catwomen, each playing an instrument save for the one up front who was singing. And what a lovely voice she had! The whole crowd seemed to be singing along with her, her smile brightening everyone's spirits. Then a moment of clarity came over Morrigan.

"Hey, I know her! That's Felicia!"

"How'd you get a job working for them, Eric?"

"It's a really long story."

"We have time."

Eric scratched at the back of his head nervously as he flicked two more switches.

"I'll tell you after the show. But you can stay back here and watch if you want. I'm gonna be here for a while, anyway."


	5. A Series of Strange and Wondrous Events

Chapter Five

**A Series of Strange and Wondrous Events**

**Beginning several years ago…**

"It's right behind me…it's right behind me, I just know it!" the ten-year old Eric panted as he ran through the forest. "Oh, man, I knew taking that dare was a bad idea! Now I'm gonna get eaten for sure!"

The dare being that if he could go into the deepest part of the woods at night and bring back some mud from the lagoon, one of the older children would give him a special ore they found. He was hoping he could give it to his father for him to craft into one of the greatest weapons ever conceived, but there was one problem; he hadn't counted on getting lost and there being a monster chasing after him!

Eric rounded one corner, tripped over his own feet and fell into what felt like a bundle of thorny vines. That was when he realized that he had walked right into a bush of brambles!

"No…no, not now!" he panicked, slowly beginning to feel tears well up in his eyes.

He struggled and kicked, trying his best to break free of the bonds, but all that did was make them tighter and force the thorns to bite into his flesh. He began sobbing even louder, especially when he heard a rustling noise slowly getting louder.

"This is it…why did I ever take that stupid dare? Better to be chicken than to be dead!"

He squeezed his eyes shut once the rustling stopped directly behind him and waited for claws or teeth or whatever to slash against his back.

They didn't come. Instead, he saw something move in front of him and slowly begin to cut the brambles off of him. The thing that came into view looked like a very large white paw…complete with red claws!

Once the brambles had let go of him, he stumbled forward and fell flat on his face. He flipped back over and raised his foot, ready to kick any approaching beast, but all he saw was the empty forest, and all he heard was complete silence save for the chirping crickets.

"Is it gone?" he questioned as he lowered his foot.

Suddenly, another rustle came from the bush directly behind him, and…

"Hi there!" a high-pitched female voice chirped.

Eric screamed and dashed forward again, just resulting in falling on his face again. He panted as he lifted himself up with his hands and looked up…

"What's wrong?" asked the face sitting directly in front of him.

He screamed again and pushed himself backward, cowering in front of the creature that had spoken to him.

"Please don't eat me!" he grovelled. "How do I look, kitty?! Do I look tasty?! Let me tell you that I'm not interested in being dinner!"

The creature came closer to him and kneeled down in front of him with a warm smile on her face. She giggled.

"I'm not gonna eat you, silly!"

Eric slowly began to calm down but regardless of that, he still couldn't work up the nerve to speak, because now that he could get a good look at the thing that had been following him, he was completely tongue-tied.

The creature was a catwoman. She had long blue hair that was absolutely billowing and trailed behind her, and as suggested from the aforementioned classification, she had two cat ears poking out from the top of her head, as well as a tail poking out of the pants she was wearing. Instead of normal hands and feet, she had large white-furred paws. For clothing, she wore a baggy tank top that just barely closed around her torso. Her pants, however, clung to her body and showed of the curves of her legs.

All in all, she was very beautiful. Had Eric known that this is what had been following him through the forest, he probably would have waited for her to find him.

"Why are you out here all by yourself?" she asked in her lovely voice. "Are you lost?"

Eric looked shamefully down at the ground.

"I took a dare to get a glowstone form the lagoon near here. When I heard you in the bushes, I…I got really scared and thought you were a monster."

The catgirl got a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay…I guess I'm just not very brave."

Eric got to his feet, and the catgirl drew herself up to her full height. She was much taller than him, and that made him slightly more intimidated in combination with her strange appearance and her radiance.

"Anyway, I've gotta get back home…if I knew where home was."

"I bet I could help you get back home."

"You mean it?! Oh, thank you so much!"

"On one condition."

"A…condition?"

"Yeah. It's okay, I'm not asking much."

"Umm…alright. What's the condition?"

The girl giggled again and leaned over him.

"I'll help you get back home…if you play with me." she said with a child-like smile.

"Play? You mean like…hide-and-seek?"

"Yeah! I can be it first if you want!"

…ah. You probably thought she meant a DIFFERENT kind of playing. My good sir or ma'am, I'm afraid I have to be the one to tell you to get your mind out of the gutter.

Eric smiled.

"Sure! That sounds like fun!"  
"Yay! Okay, go hide. I'll count to twenty."

**SEVERAL GAMES OF HIDE-AND-SEEK LATER…**

"I think I smell YOU!" the girl said happily as she poked her head into the small cavern under a root that Eric was hiding in.

Eric laughed and pulled himself out from the cavern.

"Guess it's my turn, then." he said, covering his eyes. "One…two…three….four…"

SNAP!  
"OUCH!"

Eric uncovered his eyes and ran to the source of the cry. He spotted the girl with her tail caught in one in the village's deer traps. While they were nowhere near as painful to be caught in as bear traps and her tail had only been slightly grazed by it, they still hurt quite a lot, so he could understand why the poor catgirl was on the verge of tears.

"Sweet Jesus H. Who could honestly say they saw THAT coming?"

Eric quickly dashed over to her and slowly but surely pried the trap open, allowing the girl to pull her tail out. She sat down on the ground and cradled her tail in her hands and blowing on it, as though that would make the pain stop.

"Here, let me see…" Eric said, reaching for her tail.

The girl fearfully yanked it away.

"No! Don't touch it! It'll hurt!"  
"I'm gonna try to make it feel better. Just relax."

The girl hesitated, but she let him gently take her tail and check the part that had been caught in the trap.

"Hmm…I don't think anything's broken. The trap only just grazed it…I think this might be time to whip out my dad's special serum."

He reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small bottle full of red liquid. He very carefully poured it on the girl's wound and rubbed it in. All at once, the girl felt the pain begin to subside until it was gone altogether. Her bright smile returned and she hugged Eric.

"Thank you!" she chirped before licking Eric's nose. "I don't know what you just did, but thank you!"

"No problem…umm, can we go home now? I'm starting to get really tired."

"Okay! Climb on my back and hold on tight!"

**Within minutes…**

As the girl bounded through the trees back to the village with Eric on her back, the two got the chance to know each other a little better. It turned out the girl was a singer and that she and her group had decided to come to the island to take a vacation for a little while. She had gone wandering into the forest to see if anyone lived on there when she had come across young Eric. Once she had finished telling him about that, Eric told her that his father was the village blacksmith and could make or fix just about anything, and that he himself wasn't too bad with mechanics, either.

By the time they got acquainted, the girl had touched down just outside the village. Eric hopped off her back and gave her another quick hug.

"Thank you so much."

"Anytime. I promise I'll come back and visit you someday, okay? Just be sure to wait for me."

"You can bet your life on it!"

The girl warmly smiled at him, bent over, and lightly kissed his cheek.

"Bye." she said before preparing to pounce away.

"Wait!" Eric called after her. "I don't even know your name! I'm Eric!"

The girl smiled back at him and spoke her name…a name that followed Eric since that day.

**SEVERAL YEARS LATER…**

"Felicia…" the sixteen-year old Eric said to himself.

Every time he thought of or said that, he got a warm feeling in his chest. She never came back to see him, but he doubted that she didn't really care about him. Maybe she just didn't have the time, or maybe she had forgotten about him. Who wouldn't after over six years?

As for what he had been up to, it had been almost seven months since the disaster that destroyed his hometown.

"Damn you, Morrigan." he thought. "I should have known you were up to no good."

It didn't matter. His village was gone, he had been separated from the other children, Adam was dead and so was his father.

"No…Dad's not dead…I don't know why, but…I feel like he's safe…like he's looking for me."

He continued to cling onto that hope and the feeling that the only person that could look after him now was Felicia. He just had to find her first. There was only one problem: he had no idea where he was or where to look for her.

He looked at a nearby road sign. It was in some foreign language that he couldn't understand. He saw there was no other choice. As soon as he heard some cars coming, he stuck out his thumb (a technique called hitchhiking someone in a country called Latvia taught him). The first few cars coming just kept going until a large eighteen-wheeler stopped right next to him. The man driving got out and came around the other side.

The man looked to be in his early 30s. He had shaggy brown hair and five o'clock shadow, and wore a leather jacket and jeans. He was very tall and muscular but he looked friendly nonetheless.

"You look a little out of it, friend." he asked. "There something I can do for you?"

"Yes….this is going to sound a little ridiculous, but I'm looking for a catwoman. Her name is Felicia."

"You mean Felicia Seymour from that band Felicity House? She's supposed to play in Moscow tomorrow. Quite a lovely young thing, I have to say."

"Moscow…yeah, that's another thing. Where the hell am I?"

"Just outside of St. Petersburg in Russia."

"Russia, huh? Well, anyway, thanks…Moscow is which way now?"

The man smiled.

"Tell you what, friend. I'm on my way to Moscow myself. Hop in, and I'll drive you there."

That comment absolutely made Eric's day. He'd been travelling on foot for God knew how long. Being able to sit down in a chair and let someone else take him where he wanted to go was like a dream come true. He was this much closer to seeing the girl he'd had stuck in his mind.

"Oh, thank you, Lord, this is great! I owe you one!" Eric said happily as he climbed into the passenger's seat.

He noticed that there was a large broadsword sitting behind the driver's seat. While most others would find that strange, Eric found it strange that most people DIDN'T use bladed weapons in this part of the world.

The man got inside along with him and they started driving away.

"We should be there by 8:30 tonight," the man said. "And I'm pretty sure the show starts at 9:00, so that should give you some time to make it."

"Thanks…excuse me, sir, but I never caught your name."

The man turned to him and smiled.

"Donovan." he replied. "Donovan Baine."

**LATER…**

"Here we are!" Donovan said as he stopped the truck. "Moscow!"

"Whoa…" Eric said. "This city is huge!"

Donovan had stopped the truck just outside of a large arena. Thousands of cars were parked outside of the arena.

Eric hopped out of the truck and smiled up at Donovan.

"Thanks again! This means a lot to me!"

Donovan smiled and gave him a two-fingered salute.

"My pleasure. Here. A little parting gift for you."

Eric caught the item that Donovan had tossed to him. When he got a good look at it, he saw that it was a CD case.

"Linkin Park…'Living Things'. Looks nifty."

He put it in the makeshift bag he had on his back and waved to Donovan as he drove away.

"Now to find out where they…wow. That is a HUGE bus!"

The bus in question was bright and vibrant and was about forty feet long and twenty-five feet wide. The words "Felicity House" were plastered on the sides in huge and colourful letters, and there were also pictures of all the band members on the back of the bus. Every one of them was a catgirl, but the one he took notice of was the one in the middle.

"Felicia!" he said to himself. "I knew I'd find you."

He looked over to the arena. Judging from the cheering going on inside, the band was already in there and he wouldn't be able to get to them for about two hours. From what Donovan said, it would be best if he just climbed in through the window of the bus and waited there for one of the band members to find him. If he played himself off as innocent, he'd be assured safety as the band was apparently very friendly towards humans.

"As if I didn't already know." Eric smirked. "Let's see, right…here! Perfect!"

He pushed a garbage can over, got on top of it, and heaved himself into the bus. The room he landed in seemed to be some sort of pantry. There was plenty of food everywhere, so he grabbed the first thing he saw and started scarfing it down as quickly as he could.

He sat in a corner and slowly started to get drowsy. He didn't know if it was because he'd been travelling for 22 hours straight or if he was relieved that he was going to see Felicia again. He just put his sack aside, laid down on some bags filled with what he thought was sand and drifted off to sleep.

**ONE SATISFYING SLEEP LATER…**

For a moment, Eric thought the light tugging of his bangs was just part of his dream, but when it didn't stop, his eyes cracked open.

Sitting in front of him was a small catgirl who looked only about seven years old. Her auburn hair was tied in a braided ponytail, and unlike Felicia, her paws were more hand-like. She was wearing a pair of pyjamas, which clued Eric into thinking she got up for a midnight snack.

Once Eric sat up, the little catgirl smiled.

"Hi! I'm Pico!" she said in a whisper. "I like your hair!"

"My hair? …oh, yeah." Eric thought.

He hadn't taken very good care of his hair in the last little while. It had become extremely shaggy and he had to keep sweeping it to keep it out of his eyes.

Eric stretched for a brief moment. He had expected that someone was eventually going to find him, but when he checked the nearby clock that read 12:15, he hadn't thought it would take that long for it to happen, much less be found by a little girl.

"What's your name?" Pico asked.

"…Eric Matri."

"Hehehe! That's a nice name! How did you get in here?"

"I…came in through the window."

"You're not a stalker, are you?"

"Oh, heavens no. It's just…I don't really have anywhere else to go."

Pico gasped.

"You're homeless?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Aww, that's too bad. Are you tired?"

"Yeah…kind of."

"Well, the pantry is certainly no place for you to sleep. Come with me."

She pulled Eric to his feet. She was much smaller than he was, but that didn't stop her from pulling him along with her down the hallway by two of his fingers. She led him into a bedroom with a large and comfortable-looking bed. Pico hopped in and got under the covers.

"You coming?" she asked.

Eric hesitated, but nevertheless, he climbed into the bed and nestled down into it. It felt so relaxing to finally be sleeping in a real bed. And as Pico curled up next to him, he began to think that maybe his life was going to turn around.

Sure it would be strange, but it would no doubt be better.


	6. Home is Nearby

Chapter Six

**Home Is Nearby**

**The next morning…**

"He's so cute!"  
"Quiet, Grace! You're gonna wake him up!"

"Isn't that the whole idea? We want him to wake up so we can introduce ourselves!"

"You said he was sleeping in the pantry, Pico?"

"Yeah! I got up for a midnight snack and I found him there. He said his name was Eric Matri."

"Hmm…Eric, huh? That's a nice name!"

"Hey, I know an Eric!"

"That voice…" Eric thought with his eyes still shut. "It's her! It's gotta be!"

His eyes slowly cracked open. He had fallen asleep on his side, and as he opened his eyes on this particular morning, he woke up to a smiling catwoman with a bushy green ponytail.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." she cooed.

Eric sat up and rubbed his eyes before noticing that there were more catgirls in the bed with him. Pico was there, along with the ponytail one. Then there were two twins wearing ribbons in their hair that trailed down to their feet, and a tall one with a bandana keeping her short, white and fringed hair out of her eyes. Then there was one that was peeking up over the bed. She looked small and very shy. Then there was one with long black hair that hung down to her shoulders and had a ball in her left hand, and finally there was Felicia, who was sitting right on top of Eric's legs. Every one of them but the bandana girl and hiding girl was smiling at him

It thrilled him just to see her again, but what she had said…of course she didn't recognize him. It had been over six years since they last saw each other and in terms of hair, he had really let himself go.

"It's okay…maybe there's something I can do to get her to remember." he thought.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, the ponytail girl sat up and gently stroked his hairline.

"You don't need to explain. Pico told us everything." she said. "You've come a long way for someone your age."

"In the meantime," Pico said. "We should introduce ourselves! You already know me, Pico!"

Ponytail girl: "I'm Grace!"

Bandana girl: "I'm Lucy…"

Ribbon girls: "Nana and Mimi!"

Hiding girl: "I'm…umm…Alto…"

Ball girl: "I'm Nono!"

Felicia: "And I'm…"

Eric interrupted her.

"Felicia."

Instead of making a comment about interrupting being rude or being shocked that he knew her name, her smile got wider.

"That's right! Are you a fan?" she asked.

"Is that another word for 'stalker'?"

They all laughed, even Alto who had come up from hiding thinking that this boy wasn't so scary after all.

"No." Grace said snickering. "She asked if you like our music because she thought that's why you snuck onto our tour bus."

"Well, that's not the reason." Eric replied.

"Wait…are you here to apply for the roadie position?!" Nana asked.

There was no way they'd believe him if he said he'd come to see Felicia, because then he WOULD be a stalker…wait...oh, no. Eric, you sneaky bastard…

"Uhh…yes! As a matter of fact, I am!" he replied, trying his best to sound truthful.

"Finally." Lucy sighed. "We've been trying to get a new roadie ever since the last one started standing over us while we were sleeping, the creep. I still think to this day that he was a vampire."

"Huh. Well, I promise won't do the same. I'll be on my best behaviour."

"Cool!" Felicia said. "But I think you better go see our manager first. She's up front…hey, wait…"

Felicia leaned closer to Eric and sniffed him.

"You smell…familiar. Have we met before?"

"Yes. This is the oppourtunity I've been looking for!" he thought excitedly.

But somehow he couldn't work up the nerve to answer in the positive.

"I don't think so." he said. "I'd probably remember someone like you. You're too pretty to forget."

Eric was completely oblivious to the fact that he had just given her one of the most embarrassing and yet charming compliments she had ever received.

"The manager's room is which way now?" he said before Felicia got a chance to hug, kiss, or do whatever with him.

Grace snickered and pointed down the hallway to the left. Eric got up and left the room. Pico shut the door behind him and all the catgirls gathered around Felicia to see how she'd react.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Grace demanded. "He's such a sweetie!"

Felicia said nothing.

"I call it sucking up. He clearly prefers her over the rest of us." Lucy said cynically. "I guess he just likes older women."

Felicia reacted then with a frown at her.

"I am not that old!" she half-shouted. "I'm only…how old am I again?"

"Forty-five."

"IN CAT YEARS!"

"Oh…I don't know, twenty-two…and a half."

"Okay, there. It's fine if he likes me because he's…shoot, I don't know how old HE is, either!"

**Up front…**

"You seem to be just what we're looking for, Mr. Matri…or can I call you Eric?" asked Alana Grayson, the band's manager.

"Eric is fine, ma'am." Eric replied.

When he had walked into her room, she had been sitting at a table with a cup of tea ready for him. From what he could gather, she was a witch. Not another word for bitch, but literally a witch. She was decked out in gothic makeup and wore a corset. There were even bats fluttering about in her room, and yes, she could move things without touching them directly. To his surprise however, she was very kind.

"If you could perhaps get to work on Lucy's guitar right now, that would be fantastic." Alana said. "We can't figure out if something's wrong with it or the amp."

"Well, let's take a look."

Alana led him to Lucy's room, who was fiddling around with her guitar. No matter how hard she plucked the strings, no sound came out of the amp.

"'Bout freakin' time…" she said once Eric walked in.

"Hey, if you don't want me around, I can always just leave."

"No, no, please. Stay. I'm desperate here. I had to play acoustically on the last show and I don't want that to happen again."

"Alright. Let's see it."

Lucy handed Eric her Gibson Les Paul guitar. He strummed a few chords on it. Nothing came out of the amp but static.

"Oh, man, what am I doing? I've never even seen anything like this before…wait, I got it!"

He turned to Lucy.

"Who plays bass?"

"Umm…Nono does. Why?"

"I think I might know what's wrong."

He walked over to Nono's room and borrowed her connector. He plugged it into Lucy's amp and began shredding on her guitar, completely stunning Lucy and Alana, as well as all the other catgirls once they had heard it.

"There's the problem. You need a new connector."

Lucy said nothing and simply stood there with her mouth wide open.

"Wha…what was THAT?!"

"What?"

"That riff you played! It was fantastic!"

"Really?"

"Yeah…you're not gonna take my job, are you?"

"Oh, no, of course not! Don't be silly!"

Lucy smiled.

"Thanks…seriously, I can't believe I didn't figure that out on my own. Goes to show you what kind of people you're dealing with."

"Nah…I think you're all pretty nice."

"Really? Even me?"

"You bet!"

Alana chuckled.

"Well, now that THAT problem is solved, let's discuss the upcoming gig. We're going to be stopping in Astana in a few days for our next tour stop and then we're heading straight through to China. Can you make sure all our gear is up and running for that show? I can assure you we'll pay you generously."

"Thank you. That's the kindest offer anyone could give me right now."

"So where are you from? I need to know what currency to make your pay into."

"Greece."

"Greece? Jesus Christ, how the hell did you get all the way out here?"

"I walked most of the way."

"My God, man, you must be out of your mind!"

"Or really resilient." Lucy put in.

"Yeah, I'll go with that." Eric agreed.

**Later that night…**

"Let's get a listen to this CD Donovan gave me." Eric said as he dropped "Living Things" into the stereo Alana had given him.

The bus had stopped so they could get off and make a campfire. Eric started the fire himself, amazing all the girls, and once it was good and hot, Alana brought out marshmallows and hot dogs. Eric had gone back inside the bus when no one was looking because the thoughts of being with Felicia again were starting to overwhelm him.

"God, she's just so beautiful…if only she remembered." he thought.

The CD started with a very strange sounding song that Eric seemed to like. He looked at the back of the box and saw that this song was called "Lost in the Echo". The next one was called "In My Remains".

"That sounds nifty." he thought, pressing the Skip button.

"In My Remains" started up, and this was the one Eric really liked. He smiled, turned up the volume, and started banging his head along with it, especially when it got to the chorus. The song simply got him pumped up, and he enjoyed every second of it.

"Now THIS is what I call music!"

Then the song calmed down, and one of the singers started chanting "Like an army falling one by one by one". For some reason, that lyric reminded him of the disaster he just barely escaped from. It made him angrier at Morrigan and more hoping that Cecil was alive.

"Dad…please be safe."

Regardless of the emotions that quelled up in him when he heard it, he kept listening and even started to sing along. He was a very good singer, but he never told anyone simply because he found it to be too embarrassing. Little did he know someone had heard him, and that someone had just opened the door. She smiled, and once Eric got back to the chorus, she got next to him and sang with him.

"Now in my remains are promises that never came, set this silence free to wash away the worst of me. Like an army falling one by one by one…"

Eric hadn't heard her come in or heard her start to sing with him. He simply thought it was part of the song. That is until the song ended and he turned around.

"GAH!" he yelled, hitting the Stop button. "F-F-F-Felicia!...uhh…what's up?"

"You're awesome!"

"What do you mean?"

"You can sing really well! Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Because it's stupid."

"It's not stupid, it's awesome! I'm gonna tell all the girls that we're gonna do an encore song and you're gonna sing it!"

Eric began to panic. Felicia was too ecstatic to see that he didn't approve of it and she got up and was ready to run out the door. Eric got there first and blocked the door.

"Please don't! I'm begging you!"

"Why not?!"  
"Because…I get nervous in crowds."

"Aww, you've got stage fright! That's okay! It happens to the best of us. We'll just have to try to get you to conquer your fear!"  
"No!"

Felicia got a pout on her face, but then smiled mischievously at him.

"Uhh…" Eric said. "What are you doing?"

Felicia got down on all fours, flexed her paws, and before Eric could do anything about it, she pounced on him and knocked him to the ground. She nestled her head into his chest and smiled sweetly.

"You're warm…are you blushing?"

He was. He wanted to just buck her off of him and run out the door, but why would he do that? He wanted to be with her…he wanted her.

Felicia giggled and licked his cheek. She got a puzzled look.

"Hey, you taste familiar, too. Are you sure we've never met before?"

Before he could answer, there was a stifled laugh from the door. Grace was leaning against the door frame, smirking with her arms crossed. Now Felicia was blushing, too.

"Uhh…there's a logical explanation for this." Eric stammered.

"Look, if you two wanted to be alone, all you had to do was ask, okay?" Grace chuckled.

"We were just playing!" Felicia insisted.

"Sure…anyway, what's this I hear about Eric singing the encore at our next show."

Felicia was about to excitedly scream it out, but Eric covered her mouth with his hand before she got the chance.  
"Nothing." he seethed.

"Nothing?" Grace teased.

"NOTHING!"

**A few days later…**

"In retrospect, these clothes are actually really cool on me." Eric said as he continued to flick switches to keep everything running smoothly.

They had arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, just a few hours ago, and the band had already run through most of the entire planned setlist. Needless to say, the crowd was overjoyed by every single song, and thankfully for Eric, Felicia hadn't told the band about her idea of him singing an encore song. Not that he wouldn't want to do it, just that he was indifferent to the thought.

Then the crowd started yelling out one word in unison that got Eric nervous: "ENCORE!"

"Okay, guys!" Felicia cheered in response. "We'll play one more just for you!"  
"Don't say it, please don't say it. I want nothing to do with this."

"For this last song, we'd like to introduce someone who recently joined our little squadron here. Please put your hands together for our new roadie Eric Matri!"

"Son of a…!"

When Eric didn't come out right away, Pico ran backstage and pulled him forward by his fingers, but not before he set the lights onto an automatic program he had worked out. Felicia smiled and handed him the microphone. Eric could do absolutely nothing but look out at the crowd in anxiousness. They all seemed eager to see what he could do, and he was very indifferent to their seeming want.

Yet as Grace tapped the band in with the drums and Mimi played the song's opening piano notes, he still belted it.

"_I'm sailing away._

_Set an open course for the virgin sea._

'_Cause I've got to be free._

_Free to face the life that's ahead of me._

_On board I'm the captain, so climb aboard._

_We'll search for tomorrow on every shore._

_And I'll try, oh Lord I'll try._

_To carry on."_

The crowd cheered once he had finished the first verse and Nana laid down her own notes on her synthesizer, and when he carried on (no pun intended) to the second, Felicia sang with him.

"_I look to the sea._

_Reflections in the waves spark my memory._

_Some happy, some sad._

_I think of childhood friend and the dreams we had._

_We lived happily forever, so the story goes._

_But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold._

_But we'll try the best that we can._

_To carry on."_

Eric and Felicia smiled at one another upon completing the second verse, both staring into each other's eyes for a brief moment before looking away with a blush. Lucy and Pico began shredding away on their guitars, and Alto jumped in with Felicia and Eric for the chorus.

"_A gathering of angels appeared above my head._

_They sang to me a song of hope, and this is what they said. They said,_

_Come sail away, come sail away_

_Come sail away with me._

_Come sail away, come sail away_

_Come sail away with me."_

With a huge smile spreading across Eric's face. He felt as though he really were sailing away.

"Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all."

The more he thought about it now, they more he was fascinated by just how different the world away from Demezoi looked. The people were different, the places were far more advanced than anything he had ever seen. He would've been overwhelmed by it had Felicia and the band not been there to guide him through it.

He smirked as the band proceeded into the instrumental solo. He was beginning to see Felicia as more of a big sister than someone he'd had a crush on for the past six years. That and he was nearly swooning by how good of a singer she was.

"I suppose…they're my family now…it's weird, but it's comforting. I've got someone here for me now…"

No time to dwell on that, buddy! Your next singing part's coming up!

"Right! Thanks…whoa, whoa, who the hell are you?!"

…heh heh.

Once they began proceeding towards the second chorus, Lucy began rapidly tap strumming like Eric had been doing when he tested out her guitar. They both smiled at each other, with Eric giving her a wink and a thumbs-up.

"Then again, maybe I'm not the little brother to ALL of them."

"_I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise,_

_We climbed aboard their starship, we headed for the sky, singing_

_Come sail away, come sail away_

_Come sail away with me._

_Come sail away, come sail away_

_Come sail away with me."_

The band ended on an insane finish, complete with Felicia shouting "Thank you, Astana, and good-night!" before the lights shut off.

**One drowsy blackout later…**

Eric wearily and painfully opened his eyes to find himself lying in his own bed on the bus as it kept on rolling toward China. His head was spinning, almost as though someone had smashed it with a hammer, and whatever was on his breath tasted extremely foul. When he realized what it was, he grimaced.

"I always knew alcohol was no good for you but I never thought it could do this…" he groaned as he stood up to look out the window. "I told them I don't drink for a reason!"

The rushing river beside the bus reflected the beautiful light of the moon high above, making Eric smile. The world outside Demezoi was so wondrous that he couldn't believe that before, he would have to wait until he was eighteen just to see it. Sometimes he even went down by the dock and gazed out at the sea, looking for any sign of another land beyond what he knew. In fact, it was thanks to Felicia that he knew there existed other lands outside of Demezoi.

"Just can't get her outta my head, can I?"

He sighed and was about to go get a bottle of water from the pantry to hopefully ease some of the pain in his head when someone knocked on his door, slightly startling him. Who'd want to see him this late at night?  
"Who is it?" he called.

"It's me." said Felicia.

Right when he recognized her voice, he dashed to the door and fumbled with the knob for a few moments before opening it. Felicia was standing there in a lovely satin nightgown with a blanket drawn around her shoulders. She looked very distressed.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked. "Do you need me to get something from the pantry for you?"

"No…can I sleep with you? I had a bad dream."

Eric immediately saw the frightened look in her eyes and felt his heart melt right then and there. He smiled.

"Sure."

Felicia smiled for but a moment, then slowly and gracefully walked into the room, sitting down on Eric's bed next to him. Eric laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?"  
"I was being attacked by these…things. I don't know what they were, but right in front of me was my mommy. She didn't look at me…she just walked away. I ran after her, calling for her to come back, but she didn't, and she was just barely out of my reach…"

Her eyes starting getting watery and she clung to Eric, who could only begin to imagine how that must have felt.

"What really happened to her?"

"She died a long time ago, but every time I have a bad dream, it's always the same…I feel like she just abandoned me."

Eric reached out another hand and laid it on Felicia's head. Felicia herself looked up into his eyes for a brief moment. Eric blushed and smiled before gently pulling her into a hug which she returned, placing her huge paws on his back.

"It's okay. It was just a dream. Your mother would never just up and leave you like that."

"You're saying that like you know…did your mommy die, too?"

"Yes…when I was still a baby. I can barely even remember what she looks like, and I feel so guilty about it."

Felicia tightened her hug and nuzzled his neck.

"You don't need to feel sad. You have me and the girls now."

"Yeah…Felicia, can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

Eric broke the hold on her, stood up and looked out the window. He didn't know why but he just didn't think he could look her in the eyes.

"When I told you guys that I snuck onboard the bus to be your roadie…I lied…it's because for the past half year, I've been searching for you."

Felicia's ears pricked up and she got curious. She didn't feel unnerved at all by what Eric had just said. She felt more interested as to what he was getting at.

"You were?"

"Yes. There's a reason I smell and taste familiar to you. It's because we've met before, and to be honest, I was a little unhappy at first that you didn't remember."

Felicia stood up and came closer to him. He turned and looked her straight in the eyes.

"So say it." he said sternly. "Who is it that I remind you of?"

Felicia sniffed him for a moment, then licked his cheek, and finally came up with the answer.

"No way…you're that little boy I met in the forest six years ago!"

"The one and only."

She happily jumped on him, bowling him over and back onto the bed.

"You came all this way just to see me?"

"Yeah. I didn't know where else to go."

Then she put on a pout and let go of him, sitting up on his legs instead.

"I promised I'd come back and visit you and I never did it…I'm sorry, Eric. I'm a bad friend.

"No you're not. You just forgot. That's what people do. But you remember me. That's all I care about."

"Thanks…sorry I didn't recognize you right away. You've gotten so big!"

"Happens to the best of us. So, wanna get some shut-eye?"

Felicia smiled and nestled down into Eric's bed. He followed suit, and she embraced him under the blanket.

"So we'll stay together now, right?" she asked.

"Absolutely."

Felicia slowly closed her luscious eyes and fell asleep, leaving Eric to stare up at the ceiling in deep thought. She'd finally remembered him, and it felt good to be with her again.

**BACK TO REALITY**

"And that's pretty much what happened." Eric concluded.

_And that's also where we find ourselves now developing Eric as a character. There's one more chapter where he'll get developed and ironically it has something to do with the next Darkstalker Adam will have to fight. Who is it? Well, take a guess._


	7. One Less Human to Worry About

Chapter Seven

**One Less Human to Worry About**

**The next day…**

Adam's eyes gently fluttered open the next morning as he woke to find himself lying in a queen-sized bed in a room overlooking the city below. He couldn't recall being in a more comfortable bed all his life, but that was the beauty of it: that there may have been something better before. But hey, that's me getting philosophical. Let's pay attention to the story, shall we?

Adam looked over at the digital clock on the bedside table and saw that it read 2:45 p.m. Since he had never seen a clock before (not that he'd know), he had no idea what that meant. Thankfully, Morrigan walked in at that moment with a smile, hopefully to help explain.

"Hey, you. Feeling better?" she asked.

"Much better." Adam replied with a smile.

Morrigan grinned happily and got under the covers with him.

"So you DO have a last name?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's Aensland."

"Hmm…Morrigan Aensland…it suits you."

The succubus cuddled up closer to him and gently stroked his ebony hairline.

"So…how old are you?" Adam asked.

"Hmm…I'm not sure. I lost track at I think 300."

"And how long do succubi live?"  
"Usually 400, but I heard that if we find our destined mates we can live for much longer."

"Destined mates?"

"Yeah…it's pretty stupid. I guess it's the man I'm supposed to marry or something. Only problem is that most of the men I run into are really stupid and have no idea how to defend themselves."

"With the kind of powers you have, I can well imagine."

At that moment, Eric walked in and smirked.

"Having fun, are we?" he asked, shooting a glare at Morrigan that made her chilled to the bone.

"Where were you all night?" Adam questioned.

"I sleep in the bus with the girls. Besides, there's only so much room in a suite."

"That reminds me: thanks for getting this room for us. I really needed the proper bed rest."

"Me especially." Ryu yawned as he came in stretching his arms. "I've gotta stop travelling and just settle down for a while."

"Must be nice sleeping in a bus filled with hot girls." Morrigan said, shooting a glance at Eric who dropped his glare at her and blushed.

"Most of them aren't even 12 yet, number one. Number two: I've only got the hots for one, and why did I just say that?"

You know why you just said that!

Eric shook my speech out of his head (Y'see the brilliance here?) and paid attention to Ryu, who had clapped a hand down on his shoulder.

"Eric, can I talk to you alone for a second just out here?"

"Uhh…sure?"

Ryu led Eric out of the room and into the hallway. Once he made sure they couldn't be disturbed, Ryu crossed his arms and smirked.

"Come off it. I know you've got a thing for Felicia."

"Well…yeah. No denying it. Otherwise I wouldn't have come all this way."

"So what are the dates like?"

"Great."

"That was a trick question. They're great because they aren't nerve-wracking, and that's because you haven't gone on one with her."

"So I'm taking the whole thing one step at a time. What's the problem in that?"

"The problem is that if you don't make a move on her, someone else will and you'll lose her."

Eric shuddered. He couldn't bear to think about that. After all he had been through, some other guy getting the jump on her would be the lowest blow below the belt anybody could deliver.

"So what do I do?"

"What any guy with the spine to do it would: walk up to her and ask her if she'd like to go out with you."

"WITHOUT throwing up?"  
"Yes…and be prepared to do it in the next thirty seconds, 'cause speak of the devil."

Eric jumped up in shock when the two white paws suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"Hi, Eric!" Felicia chirped. "What're you guys doing?"  
"Nothing, just talking about…stuff."  
"What kinda stuff?"

"Uhh…Ryu?"

Ryu was now glaring at him with his arms crossed, mouthing the words "Get a move on" with the corner of his mouth.

"Umm…Felicia?"

"Yeah, Eric?"

Felicia's ears were pricked up and her tail was wagging very quickly. Not to mention, her eyes were so wide that they looked almost too big for her face, yet somehow that made her so adorable that Eric was starting to lose the little amount of nerve he had before.

Then Ryu said "Say it before I throw a Hadoken up your ass!"  
"FeliciaIwaswonderingifyouwan tedtogooutwithme!"

He had said it so quickly and suddenly that Felicia had reared back in surprise, at first having no idea what he had said, but as her brain quickly processed it, she got excited.

"You mean like…on a date?"

Eric panted for a moment before putting on a nervous half-smile.

"Y-yeah…you don't have to, but…"

An excited smile spread across Felicia's face and she quickly embraced him.

"I'd love to! When should we would go?"  
"You wanna go right now?"

"Yeah!"

Felicia dashed down the hall while Eric stood there in bewilderment.

"Sonuva gun."

Ryu smirked.

"There ya go. Was that so hard?"

"I have a dagger on my belt. Stop talking."

**A few minutes later**

"So what do you wanna do first?" Eric asked.

"Hmm…, well we're already at the theater? You wanna see a movie?"  
"Sure. What's playing?"

"It looks like most of the movies are in Japanese…hey, there's _Independence Day_!"

"Isn't that movie about aliens trying to destroy the world?"

"Yeah, but it looks really cool! And it's in 3D!"

"Huh…alright, then. Fine by me."

**Over 2 hours later**

Felicia had thoroughly enjoyed the movie, clinging to Eric whenever an alien suddenly popped up on the screen, and they both got a good chuckle when Will Smith yelled "What the hell is that smell?!" at the top of his lungs. Eric himself simply liked the film. For the most part, he was just trying to figure out what was going on and why the aliens were attacking Earth to begin with. Plus he didn't really like the 3D gimmick but Felicia seemed happy with it.

Once they got out of the movie, it was still light out.

"Phew! That was a pretty cool movie!" Felicia chirped.

"Yeah…didn't make a whole lot of sense, though, but it's science fiction, so there you go."

"Can we go to an arcade?"

"I guess so. I don't know where we can…well, THAT was simple."

Right across the road was an arcade. Felicia took Eric's hand and led him across an inside. The air-conditioning blew off some off the noticeable sweat that had been building on his forehead, not only from going out in the hot summer sun, but from Felicia clinging to him. Sure, she had loved the movie and that should automatically give him no reason to fear, but was that enough to really get her into him?

Eric shoved a 500 yen bill into the machine and out came a couple tokens. As soon as Felicia grabbed a few of them, she ran off toward a huge machine with two huge pads sticking out of it and speakers blaring some extremely loud techno music.

"What the hell…_Dance Dance Revolution_…what kind of game is this?!"

"It's a dancing game!" Felicia chirped as she dropped a few tokens into a little slot. "You know that game _Rock Band _that we have on the bus? This is like that for your feet!"

As soon as she had dropped in three tokens, the machine proudly declared "SELECT MUSIC!" so suddenly and loudly that Eric nearly flew backwards.

"Jay-zus!" he yelled, covering his ears.

"It's alright! C'mon, let's play together!"

"Uhh…alright. I'll give it a go."

He stepped on the pad next to Felicia, and as soon as the arrows started shooting down the screen after they had selected song, they both took off trying to hit the corresponding part of their pads with their feet as quickly as they could in the proper timing. While Felicia was flipping over, doing the splits, and performing all kinds of acrobatics, Eric was just uselessly flailing his legs around to try and keep up. Not five seconds before the song ended, Eric gave up and fell backward, not realizing that there was a metal bar there and horridly cracking his back on it.

"Mother of pearl covered in mud!" he seethed through clenched teeth and squeezed-shut eyes.

Felicia didn't notice until the song had ended and she saw that she had gotten perfect.

"Ha! Beat you like a…oh my God! Are you okay?!"

"I may have unintentionally shattered my spine, but other than that everything's fine and dandy…ow…"

"Do you wanna play something else?"

"It would be much appreciated, thanks."

They settled on _Mortal Kombat_ (which to Eric's surprise, Felicia thoroughly enjoyed and pulled off Fatalities on him every time she got him into the "FINISH HIM!" state), then later played _Galaga_ where Eric finally got his chance to shine, racking up enough points to get three extra lives. It when on from _Fruit Ninja _to _Mario Bros. _to _Double Dragon _and so on until they finally left.

"That was awesome!" Felicia chirped. "You were really good at a lot of those games!"

"Yeah, but I had no chance of keeping up with you on that dancing game…and that's BESIDE the fact I nearly smashed my spinal cords into splinters."

"Thanks…oh."

She stopped for a moment and clutched at her stomach as it started growling.

"Um, Eric? Do you think we could get something to eat now?"

"Sure. What're ya hungry for?"

"Some fish would be really nice if it's not too much trouble."

"I think there's a sushi joint somewhere around here. Let's go look for it."

Right at that moment, Felicia flopped down on a bench with sweat absolutely coating her forehead and her tongue hanging out like she was a rabid dog. Eric chuckled.

"Guess that hardcore gaming got to you, eh? Stay right here. I'm gonna go find it."

And off he went, letting Felicia relax on the bench with her stomach growling so loudly it sounded like a hurricane ripping through town.

"Please hurry, Eric." she said to herself. "I get really cranky when I'm…hey now, what's all this about?"

She had spotted a little girl crying in a nearby alleyway, looking about eight years old and covered in scratches and bruises. That alone was enough to make Felicia upset, but what really got her mad was that no one was paying any attention. A sobbing child all alone and no one had even the smallest hint of decency to stop and ask what was wrong.

"Good God, it makes you wonder how they sleep at night!" she said with a scowl.

She stood up and was about to run over to the girl when she remembered what Eric had said, and unfortunately went into a mental battle. So simple that she started using the song lyrics: "Should I stay or should I go? I promised Eric that I wouldn't go anywhere…but that girl looks so sad! I can't just leave her there by herself!"

Finally, she stood and walked into the alley with this thought: "I'll just tell him what happened. He'll understand."

The girl looked up with slight fear when she heard Felicia approach, but one look at the catgirl's soft and smiling face was enough to calm her. Felicia also noticed that the girl's hair was in a bobcut and was a light violet hue.

"Hi there!" Felicia said. "What's your name?"

"L-Lily…what's yours?"

"I'm Felicia. Why are you crying?"

The girl stood up, still with tears flowing down her pale cheeks.

"I was supposed to go with my mommy to the Hiyama Hotel, but…I lost sight of her in a crowd and I got lost!"

"Aww, that's too bad. I can help you get to the hotel if you want. A friend of mine is staying there."

Lily perked up and her eyes brightened once an adorable smile spread across her face.

"You mean it?! Thank you so much!"  
"No problem…but can I ask you something?"

"Umm…sure."

"Have we met before?"

Lily faked thinking for a moment.

"Hmm…I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'd remember you in a heartbeat.

Felicia shrugged.

"Oh, well. C'mon, let's get you back to your mommy!"

**Soon enough…**

Felicia brought Lily straight to the hotel. Lily stated that she could find her mother from there and thanked Felicia before running inside. Felicia herself quickly ran back to where she was supposed to meet Eric, and though she was sweating bullets by the time she made it, there was Eric standing there looking around nearly frantically.

"Uh oh." Felicia thought nervously. "Please, God, don't let him be too angry."

Regardless of the nervous feeling in her gut, she dashed forward with a happy smile.  
"Hi, Eric! I'm back!"

Not that it was entirely unexpected, but once Eric turned to face her, Felicia wished she had said why she had left the bench in the first place right away. Eric's face had a look of mixed panic and anger, and once he had looked at her for less than three seconds, out came the stern talking-to.

"I thought I told you to stay here on the bench!" he said angrily. "I've been looking around for you for the past fifteen minutes!"

"But Eric, I…"

"Do you know how worried I was about you?! I thought for a minute that you'd been picked up by some idiot that wanted to parade you around in a circus sideshow or taken behind a building and raped!"

"But there was this…"  
"Felicia, I can't look after you every second of the day, so when I tell you to do something so you'll stay safe, I expect you to do it for your own good!"

By that time, Felicia had completely forgotten about Lily and hung her head. She knew better than to just go running off in a city she had only just showed up in. Eric was right. What if she had gotten kidnapped?

"I'm sorry, Eric." she said sadly. "I don't know what I was thinking…can you forgive me?"

Eric saw that face and lost every shred of anger. A sympathetic smile formed on his face and he draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, who couldn't forgive you? In fact, who could stay mad at you for more than twenty seconds? I sure can't."

Felicia sighed contentedly and nuzzled up to him.

"Thank you. Did you get the sushi?"

"Yep." Eric said, holding up the bag he had in his hand. "Let's head over to that hill."

The two walked off to the spot Eric had pointed out underneath a tree just as the sun was setting behind the horizon. While Eric flopped down on the grass, Felicia sat and began scarfing down the sushi as fast as she could. At first glance Eric found it slightly unnerving, but then again, fish plus cat equals cat going "NOM NOM NOM!"

While Eric watched the moon slowly begin to rise, he felt his feelings quell up inside him again and remembered why he even took Felicia out in the first place. Yes, they'd been living together for three months and had known each other for much longer, and Felicia had slept with Eric on more than one occasion, but did he really have the courage to say how he really felt?

"Umm…Felicia?"

She seemed to sort of be paying attention. Her ears had pricked up when he spoke, but she was still hellbent on absolutely devouring the delicious seafood she had before her.

"I don't know if you had a great time tonight or not, but…God, I don't know how to say this without trying to seem like a pathetic weirdo."

Little did he know that Felicia was paying full attention once he had looked away. She kept looking at him with wide eyes and a smile, somehow knowing exactly what he was going to say and when he was going to say it.

"The thing is," Eric continued to the best of his ability. "I…I really think you're pretty much the greatest person in the world. You got me out of a dark forest, you and your band took me in when I really needed someone, and most of all, you gave me a friend in the world outside the one I knew."

Eric sighed and looked up at the starry sky. It was so easy to get lost in staring up at such a beautiful sight that he nearly forgot about the task that lay before him. That was the least of his problems. The greatest was trying to get those three words past his lips, but all he could do was keep drawing it out.

"You're probably the most beautiful person I've ever met, too. Whenever I look at you, I've really gotta try my hardest to keep from going completely crazy…and whenever you smile, it really feels like I…"

"Eric?"

He nearly jumped when she suddenly spoke after seemingly not paying attention, and when he turned his head to face her, she was smiling oh so sweetly at him and had placed her paw over his hand.

"Stop talking." she whispered before sealing her eyes and closing the gap between them.

Eric sat absolutely stunned for a brief moment, but once he pulled himself together and realized exactly what was happening, he closed his eyes and took in the warm feeling he was getting in his chest. Had it really been this easy the entire time? If it had, then he had certainly been the biggest idiot in the world. He could tell Felicia was enjoying every moment of it from the way he could hear a light purr coming from her throat.

Very gently, Felicia pushed him down to the ground and rolled on top of him, continuing the loving embrace on the soft grass with the light breeze blowing under and over them. Eric wanted to let it last for the whole night, but sadly, he was only human, and humans needed to breathe. He pushed Felicia's mouth back and took in a countless number of breathes, but she still smiled down at him as he nervously smiled in return.

"Felicia…I love you."

"I love you, too, Eric." she replied. "And next time, for goodness sake just say it. I know you're trying to be sweet, but really, come on."

They both shared a laugh before Felicia allowed him to sit up. She got herself comfortable on his lap and looked deep into his eyes.

"Just to say thank you for all you've done for me up until now," she said. "I want to give you something. Promise me that you'll take good care of it, okay?"

"You don't need to ask me to keep a promise when you know I'll never break it."

Felicia dug something out of her pocket and held it out to him.

"I want you to keep this." she said. "It belonged to my mommy."

The item in question was a lovely necklace. It was accessorised with various jewels, but the largest and most radiant was the bright ruby hanging from the golden chain. It was so radiant that Eric felt almost ashamed to brush his fingertips against it as Felicia placed it in his hand.

"This was your mother's? …Felicia, there's no way I can take this from you. I mean…isn't this all you have left of her?"

"And I want to give to you because I trust you. We're a couple now, so we have to trust each other, right?"  
"Well…yes, but…"

Felicia covered his mouth with her paw and smiled deeply into his eyes.

"It's okay. I know you'll take good care of it."

Eric didn't say another word. He simply hung the pendant over his neck and marvelled at just how beautiful it was; nearly as beautiful as the creature that gifted him with it. He stared at for a few more moments, revelling in its radiance before looking up at Felicia again with a smile.

"You know, I kind of consider this a real honour."

"So do you promise you'll look after it?"  
"No need to ask me twice. I promise."

They smiled and were about to come in for another kiss when…

"HOOooAAaaAA!"

They both shot up to their feet, Eric gripping Phos' handle and readying himself to draw it.

"What in the name of…" he started.

"Look! Over there!"

Felicia was looking toward a distant hill, and standing on it, staring up at the moon and silhouetted by its light was a large dog-like creature, perhaps eight feet or more in height, that seemed to be standing on its hind legs. It was safe to say it had taken no notice of them.

"Is that…a werewolf?!" Eric sputtered out of fear.

To his surprise, Felicia didn't run away the moment he said that word. In fact, she seemed to be squinting at the beast and trying to get a better look. The moon managed to completely illuminate it from so far away, and Felicia could see the torn pants, as well as the zigzagging blue and white fur.

"Hey, it's Jon!" she said happily.

"Who?"

"Jon Talbain! He's a friend of mine!"

"YOU'RE friends with a werewolf?!"

"Why not? He's nice!"

Then she made the foolish mistake of calling out to him.

"Jon! Over here!"

Jon's ears pricked up when he heard his name called and turned toward the source of the voice. He could see both Felicia and Eric as clear as day, but it wasn't a friend that he saw.

Initially, Felicia was happy when Jon got down on all fours and started running toward them, since she was half-expecting him to just ignore her. However, once he came close enough, both she and Eric could see that something was not right. Was it just them or was Jon growling at them?

"Does he seem a little out of it to you?"

Eric stepped in front of her and drew Phos.

"Get behind me!" he yelled.

A wise decision, because right at that moment, Jon had come within leaping distance and bounded at the two of them with his fangs and claws bared. Felicia shrieked in horror and dove away from him while Eric stood and prepared to fight. However, when he dodged Jon's attack and attempted to make a stab at him, the knife burned his palm again and forced him to pull back.

"Work, damn you! Work!" he yelled at before trying to attack, again to no avail.

All of Eric's confidence when sucked out, and he realized in horror that he had little to no defenses left when Jon bowled him over and sank his fangs into the young man's arm.

"ERIC!" Felicia cried.

Eric gritted his teeth and seized the werewolf's muzzle, trying his hardest to pry it open and shove it off. Sadly, Jon was much stronger than him, and proceeded to drag him slowly away.

"Felicia, run!" Eric yelled before screaming in pain when Jon sank his teeth deeper into his arm.

With tears streaming down her face, Felicia buried her face in her paws and ran away as fast as she could, abandoning the person she had just devoted herself to and had given her most precious belonging.

"How could Jon do this?! I thought he was my friend!" she bawled.

By the time Felicia was safely back in the town, Jon had dragged Eric so far out that it would take him ten minutes to get back to the boundaries on foot. Eric finally had enough. He thrust his fingers into Jon's eyes and pressed down into the sockets as hard as he could. Jon himself proceeded to whine and shriek like the dog he was, but Eric refused to stop until Jon finally let go. Clutching his injured arm, Eric gave the temporarily blinded werewolf one final kick to the stomach before the latter ran off ferociously into the night, leaving Eric to lie there on the ground and bleed out.

"Oh, God…I know what this is…he's tainted me. I'm going to become…just like him."

His father always warned him about fates worse than death, and perhaps becoming a werewolf was once such fate.

Thankfully, his father had taught him something that may save his sanity. He removed the necklace and seized Phos.

"I don't care if you burn my hand off. I'm going to see Felicia again." he growled at it, as though it was a sentient being.

Resisting the pain as best he could, he stabbed the knife into the ruby on the necklace and began carving the required image. The pain was so severe that it felt like it was seeping into his very spirit, but he pressed on. He couldn't stop. He had to hurry. By the time he had finished carving the image, the pain had gotten so bad that it felt as though his arm were being eaten from the inside out, making an incredible relief when he finally pulled the knife back. On the ruby was now a perfect image of a seal of purity displayed in many areas of Demezoi, and in the middle was the Holy Cross.

"With this, my humanity will supress the animal instincts." he panted as he wearily draped the necklace over himself again. "Alright….to the beast that now lives within my soul, I say…come for me!"

Then the pain took hold and after a few moments, anyone who was still awake was frightened to bed by a bone-chilling howl as the moon came out from behind the clouds.

**Elsewhere…**

Felicia had come crying back to the hotel room where Adam, Ryu, and Morrigan were there to ask her what had happened. When she informed them, Morrigan stayed behind to comfort her while Adam and Ryu went out to look for the presumed-dead Eric. Unfortunately, they came back an hour later with no luck. They all went to bed, Felicia staying in the hotel room on the futon across from Ryu's under the fear that if she went outside, Jon would come for her next.

It didn't occur to her that something large had come in through the window as she gradually fell asleep and knelt down beside her, looking at her face in the moonlight and softly kissing her forehead before falling asleep at her feet.

"It's okay." Eric thought. "I just can't ever let her know."

_And so ends another fanfic chapter that took way longer than necessary to make which confirms that Adam's next opponent is Jon Talbain! And as for Eric's story development arc...yeah, I'd say he REALLY developed something in this chapter_. _Hopefully Chapter Eight_ _won't take so damn long to write. That seems to be a problem with writing up fanfics from scratch, completley unlike what I did with SFNG. Ah, well. Just keep your eyes peeled for the next update!_


	8. Fang Against Fang, Fur Against Fur

Chapter Eight

**Fang Against Fang, Fur Against Fur**

**The next morning…**

Felicia's worn eyes fluttered open and she sadly sat up, staring at the blank wall with the sun streaming in through the curtains, hindered by their opaqueness and darkening the room so severely she could barely see in front of her.

"I should have done something…I should have tried to fight Jon off." she sighed. "I shouldn't have just left him there for dead…this is all my fault."

She got up, but right away she tripped over something on the ground and fell flat on her face, nearly immediately hearing a groan of pain.

"Jeez. What a way to wake up after a total disaster." the voice moaned.

Felicia recognized the voice almost instantly and spun around.

"ERIC! YOU'RE ALIVE!" she cried joyfully before embracing the worn-out Eric, waking up Adam, Morrigan, and Ryu in the process.

"Owowow! Easy there!" Eric said, painfully returning the embrace. "Still a little beat up over what happened."

Felicia helped him sit up as Adam and the others came in, Ada smirking and putting his hands on his hips upon seeing what was going on.  
"Looks like you had some night, eh, Eric?" he asked.

"You've got no idea, man." Eric replied, heaving himself up onto the futon and holding his head up with his palm.

"What happened to your clothes?" Ryu demanded. "You look like someone slashed you with a knife."

It was true. His shirt and pants had numerous tears in them, but from the way they were split, there was no way that it was due to being attacked with a knife, especially considering the only wound was the huge bite mark on his arm, which had patched up but had dried blood caking its edges. It looks more like his clothes had been stretched so tightly that the seams split from the pressure.

"I don't know…I'm having a tough time even remembering anything that happened last night." Eric said.

Felicia's ears drooped and she put on an upset face.

"You don't remember anything?"

"Wait…there is one thing."

He looked at her with a smile.

"The most beautiful catwoman in the world became my girlfriend."

Felicia's sad look was wiped away in an instant and she hugged Eric with a contented sigh.

"That's right."

Adam smiled at the couple, when all of a sudden everything was muted as though he had gone deaf. Everything seemed to slow down. Then he heard a voice. It was Sister Sophia's voice.

"The wolf howls again on Yokai Hill in ten hours."

As soon as it had started, it ended and his vision and hearing returned to normal. Adam repeated what he had heard, and the other four looked at him in confusion.

"Yokai Hill…that's where Eric and I got attacked last night!" Felicia said. "Jon's coming back?!"

"I suppose so." Adam said. "And in ten hours it'll be nightfall. If we can set up a perimeter around the hill before then, we might have a chance at nabbing this guy."

"No, Adam, you don't understand! Jon is extremely fast, and he's pretty skilled with a billy club, too. Beating him isn't going to be easy."

"Neither was beating Morrigan, but I got that done, didn't I?"

"Yeah…really hurt, too." Morrigan put in, shuddering slightly. She was still trying to shake off the fact that Adam had nearly sliced her to ribbons.

Eric said nothing, but deep inside he was frightened. If Felicia were to see exactly what had happened to him, she might never want to see him again. She'd cast him out, thinking he was a total monster…which he was. He couldn't deny it now.

"Now Felicia, Eric, we're not asking you to help us, but…" Adam started.

Eric slammed his fist on the table and stood.

"Count me in. I don't care if I get torn to pieces."

Felicia stood up.

"If Eric's going, I'm going, too! I'm not gonna just stand by the sidelines and watch someone I love get hurt!"

"Now hold up now!" Ryu butted in. "Did you just say what I think you said?!"

Everyone looked over at Eric, who flushed bright red and shrugged.

"Fine. We made out before Talbain attacked us. Ya happy?"

Ryu and Morrigan snickered while Adam clapped a hand down on Eric's shoulder.

"Good on you, man! Way to stick it in there!"

"I didn't stick anything in anywhere if that's what you're thinking!"

_**(ERIC AND FELICIA HAVE JOINED THE PARTY)**_

"Dammit, where is she?" Ryu groaned. "I know her flight got delayed, but she should have been here hours ago!"

"This friend of yours…where is she from exactly?" Morrigan asked.

"She's from China. She works as a narcotics agent for Interpol."

"Nifty. So what's her name?"

"Her name is Ch…"

Now that may be a hint and a half for you, but unfortunately our hero chose that time to interrupt him.

"Guys, shut up a second!" Adam seethed. "Listen!"

Off in the distance, they heard a loud howl. Felicia shivered.

"There's gotta be something wrong. I saw Jon not too long ago and he wasn't acting anything like that!" she whimpered. "He's got such great control over his animal side…I don't know what could have happened."

Eric gritted his teeth with the grim realization that inevitably he'd have to reveal what had happened, but he also now knew that Felicia might still accept it if he showed that he was perfectly capable of keeping a hold on his humanity.

"I have to do it…or else, she'll never want to see me again."

The howling came again, this time closer than before. Adam drew his blade, Morrigan extended her wings, Felicia readied her claws, Ryu charged his Hadoken, and Eric prepared for the worst.

And sure enough, right as the sun set behind the horizon, the worst came: Jon jumped at them with his teeth and claws bared.  
"HADOKEN!" Ryu bellowed, launching it as quickly and powerfully as he could.

The blast only did so much as to knock Talbain back a few feet. The werewolf growled and roared angrily at the party before drawing his billy club and launching at the closest one: Felicia.

"I'm sorry, Jon!" she cried before flipping over him and lashing at him with her claws.

The werewolf yelped out in pain as the claws dragged across his face and left the spots where they made contact bleeding. His response was to growl and lunge at her again when Eric rushed forward and delivered a quick roundhouse kick to his stomach. What he was wondering, however, was why he hadn't been struck by the unbelievable pain again. Then he looked down and saw the reason: his entire body was enveloped by the shadow of the tree behind him. He knew, however, that as the seconds ticked by, he'd have no choice but to go into the moonlight and expose himself. Phos certainly wasn't going to help him anymore.

As soon as Jon recovered from the kick, Morrigan had rushed forward, morphed her wings into black ropes and started whipping them at him as fast she could. A bad idea, because Jon bit down on the closest one and dragged her toward him, managing to hit her in the chest with his club and force the air out of her lungs. Adam was quick to rush forward and clothesline Jon with his prosthetic arm, and as soon as Jon was falling to the ground, Ryu zipped under him and knocked him into the air with a loud "SHORYUKEN!"

"I'm not sure if you ever had an edge before, but I think you're losing it." Adam slyly remarked.

"Shut up and put this mutt down already!" Morrigan shot back.

When Ryu and Adam jetted forward at Jon again, the werewolf responded by clawing Adam in the chest, forcing him to fall backward with a cry of pain, and seizing Ryu and around the middle and suplexing him, slamming his head into the ground and forcing him out of stability. When Morrigan and Felicia came forward and tried to attack him, he punched Morrigan in the stomach, grabbed her neck with his mouth, and flipped her over him. Adam managed to get back up, but as soon as he did, Jon pummelled him in the stomach and smashed his head with his club. Felicia could do nothing more than stare at Jon in fear.

"Please…remember me! Remember who you are!" she cried. "Don't do this, Jon! I know the real you and isn't this!"

Jon simply stood there, staring at her for a brief moment. Then he slowly stepped forward, panting heavily, and he seemed to reach out to her, almost as if he were begging for help. Sadly, it was just an act. As soon as Felicia stepped forward to take his hand, he swung his club and hit her in the head, knocking her to the ground. Eric gritted his teeth, biting his lip and even drawing blood in the process once he saw Felicia's face covered in sweat, blood and tears. He nearly ran forward, but stopped when he saw that his toes were just barely out of the moonlight.

"I can't do it…I can't go through that again. And…what will Felicia think?"

All at once, Jon bent down and seized poor Felicia's neck, hauling her into the air and leering at her with his crazed and feral eyes. Felicia screamed as Jon slowly began bringing his claws up to her eyes, likely with the intention of gouging them out. As soon as Eric saw that, he lost all care of the pain.

"Get away from her, you son of a bitch!" he yelled before flinging himself into the moonlight.

The moment his whole body was in the moonlight, the pain overtook him and he fell to his knees. Everyone including Jon looked on in shock as Eric's body began wracking itself. He loud out a pained yell, looking up at the moon for a brief moment, and when he looked back down suddenly, the expression in his face made even Morrigan terrified.

His teeth had sharpened significantly, his eyes had gone red, and every bone in his body seemed to be shifting. He fell on all fours and let out a loud war cry, which shifted into a bone-chilling howl in seconds. His shirt stretched and tore as his torso began growing larger and more muscular, and his pants now only went halfway up his shins whereas they had gone to his ankles before. Ebony black fur began growing all over his body, his fingernails extended into sharp claws, his backbone extended into a tail, his face stretched into a snout, and two pricked up ears appeared on his head as his normal human ones vanished.

Finally, he stood. Before, he had been of average height, maybe 5'8" at the least. Now he was well over six feet, roughly Jon's height, and speaking of Jon, he dropped Felicia and growled at his newly transfigured foe. Eric looked at Jon with a venomous glare and spoke.

"Alright. It's you and me, pal." he challenged. "I may not have a sword on me, but I can still beat you to Kingdom Come."

Jon's response was to growl and lunge at him. Eric retaliated with a roundhouse kick to his face followed up with a claw to his chest. Jon followed up with an attempted punch, which Eric grabbed and got him with a headbutt. They exchanged blows for numerous moments. A punch here, a club swing there, a claw slash here, a bite there. All that could be said was that it was two feral beasts battling it out for the title of alpha male. The thing was that only one of them was an actual savage monster, whereas the other was a normal human stuck in an anthropomorphic wolf's body.

Felicia had recovered from the blows Jon had delivered, but she had seen Eric morph into the creature that was defending her now. She had been wondering why Eric wasn't fighting Jon with the rest of them before, but the truth truly made her frightened, yet compassionate at the same time. Eric must have felt like such a lost soul, thinking that all he had left was this battle, and all he could do was keep fighting in hopes that his opponent would eventually tire.

And sadly, that's exactly what Eric was doing: just trying to wait out the fight, because even with the extra boost that came with becoming a werewolf, he was still just treading water. Talbain was extremely strong and fast and wasn't holding back on him at all. He moved so quickly that Eric had very little time to react, let alone get in a good hit. Even faking out hits didn't work considering Jon just struck at whatever chance he could get.

"Damn, this guy's really not holding back on me…then again, why would he?"

Finally, Eric got tired of trading blows and dashed forward in a football like charge, smashing into Jon and bringing him straight to the ground. It only took Jon a mere moment to throw his adversary off of him and get a good slash in, leaving bloody gashes on Eric's muzzle. Eric replied with a flurry of his own slashes, all of which Jon swiftly moved around until giving a kick straight to Eric's chest, sending him sprawling on his back.

"Y'know, in all honesty, I think this would be a much more entertaining fight if we were trash-talking one another," Eric muttered. "But nope. He's gotta be too whacked out of his mind and unable to understand the concepts of sanity to make this fun. Instead it's just tiring and I should really be fearing for my life instead of ranting to myself."

Jon began gnashing his teeth at Eric, who still had the strength in him to hold the rabid beast away from him, though even he couldn't deny that the beast's fangs were getting dangerously close to his throat. And just when it seemed like Jon was going to finish the job…

"KIKOKEN!"

A large blast of energy came shooting forward at top speed, ramming into Jon and knocking him off the struggling Eric. The woman that landed next to Eric and hauled him to his feet made the dazed Ryu much more confident.

"About damn time you got here!"

The woman in question was Chinese, just as Ryu had stated. She wore knee high white boots, as well as a blue T-shirt with golden accents lacing across it and a pair of shorts with the same sort of coloration. On her wrists were studded bracelets, and her long brown hair was tied up with a white ribbon. She smiled at Ryu.

"Sorry. The plane got REALLY delayed. Bad weather and all. You know how it is."

She turned back to Jon and raised herself into a crane stance.

"Okay, Eric. Let's put this mongrel down for good."

"Gotcha…and you are?"

"I think the readers know who I am but we'll get the introduction done later."

The two of them shot forward. Jon had no time to react before Chun-Li launched him into the air with a single kick of her powerful legs. Eric followed up by leaping after him and stamping him back down onto his back. Jon bucked Eric off of him and threw his club right at Chun-Li, who simply kicked it right back at him, slamming him in the stomach.

"Be a good boy and heel, pup!" she mocked.

Eric then pinned Jon's arms behind him, allowing Chun-Li to deliver numerous punches and kicks to the beast's face, chest, stomach, and groin. Finally, Eric threw him into the air using a WWE-style spin, and Chun-Li jumped up after him.

"TENSHO KICK!"

She spun herself, landing her left foot on his face and her right foot on his stomach, and she gracefully dropped back to the ground and returned to her crane stance, Jon tumbled done on his face and just barely managed to pull himself to his knees. What the group noticed, however, was that when he hit the ground, instead of the usual dog-like yelp, they heard a human scream of pain. When Jon looked up, they could see that he no longer had the rabid look in his eyes, convincing Felicia to come closer.

"Jon? Are you alright?" she asked.

Jon looked up upon hearing her voice, and to her relief, he spoke.

"F-Felicia…is that….AGH!"

He let out a loud shriek of pain and clutched at his head before falling on the ground again, his body wracking itself.. He looked up in pain.

"Please…h-help me…"

"Adam! Now!" Morrigan yelled.

Adam nodded, rushed forward, and landed his palm on Jon's forehead. His vision blurred out again and now he could see a younger version of himself talking to a woman.

"**Mom…what happened to Dad?"**

"**Oh…Adam, he died just before you were born."**

"**He did? What happened to him?"**

"**It's a long story."  
"Please tell me."**

The woman told him the story and the true Adam began shedding light tears.

"Mom…"

The vision fast forwarded again, and the younger Adam was now a teenager.

"**Once I come of age…I'm gonna go to Romania, find that son of a bitch, and kill him. I don't care how long it takes me…he'll pay for what he did to my father."**

His vision cleared, and Adam was left clutching his forehead in pain. Morrigan ran forward to steady him.

"What did you see this time?"  
"I saw…my mother. I remember her now…is she safe?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her in so long..."

"And my dad…he died, right?"

"Yes…you said he was killed by Demitri Maximoff."

"So that's who I was plotting to kill…well, no sense dwelling on it now. I'm even further from Romania than I ever was before."

"Jon!" Felicia cried. "Please wake up!"

While Adam had merely stumbled backward, Jon had seemingly gone into an unconscious state, with Felicia cradling his head on her lap. The party grouped around him, and once Felicia lightly touched her paw to his forehead, his eyes slowly cracked open. No longer were they red and menacing. Now they were watery blue.

"…Felicia?"

Felicia herself was overjoyed and embraced Jon.

"You're alright! I was so worried!"

Jon strained his face and held out his paw, asking for help. Ryu helped him to his feet and he shook the stars out of his eyes.

"What a terrible experience I have been through…like a horrible nightmare." he panted.

"Jon, do you remember what happened to you before you went into that feral state?" Chun-Li asked.

"I am not sure. I remember a strange man appearing before me and stating that I was one of the thirteen, and then nothing…of course, I am not sure what one of the thirteen even means."

"We do." Adam put in.

They explained their story, with Jon listening intently the whole time.

"So it would seem you are well on your way to recovering." he replied upon them finishing. "I apologize for any harm I have brought to you. As compensation, I will journey with you and assist you in recovering the remaining pieces of your memory."

"That would be a big help." Adam said before turning to Ryu. "Now how about introducing us to your friend here?"

Ryu nodded.

"Everyone, this is Xiang Chun-Li. Chun, these are Adam Kratos, Morrigan Aensland, Felicia Seymour, Jon Talbain, and Eric Ma…hey, where'd Eric go?"

The six of them looked around, but there was no sign of Eric. Felicia immediately felt upset.

"Oh, no…he must have run away because he thought I'd reject him for becoming a werewolf."

"The blame is mine." Jon sighed. "I am the one who bit him and tainted his blood. Thankfully he seems to have found a way to supress his animal instincts, but he must feel quite alienated from you."

"Well, where could the poor fella have run off to?" Chun-Li asked.

Felicia snapped her paw-fingers when she thought of the answer.

"I think I know. Everybody follow me!"

_**(JON AND CHUN-LI HAVE JOINED THE PARTY)**_

Felicia had let them back to her band's bus. She went in alone and ran right for Eric's room. When she saw that it was locked, she knocked on the door.

"Eric, please come out!"

All she heard was a heavy sigh and nearly tear-stricken words.

"You don't have to say anything…I know. You hate me now because of what I am."

"Eric, please open the door…I wanna see you like this."

"No, you don't."

"Yes I do. Let me see. I promise I won't be mad at you."

There was a definite hint of hesitation, but nevertheless, she heard the undeniable sound of the door unlocking. She slowly opened the door, stepped inside and shut it behind her. The entire room was dark save for the moonlight streaming in through the window, and illuminated in the corner was Eric in all his wolf-like sorrow. For a moment, Felicia was indeed frightened by him, but as she stepped closer, she lost all sense of fear and knelt down beside him. He had his legs pulled up under him and was hiding his face in his knees in shame.

"It's okay. You don't need to be upset." she assured him.

He said nothing.

"Eric, it's okay. I'm not mad at you. I was worried about you. After all, we're a couple. We're supposed to look out for each other."

For a moment, Eric remained silent, then spoke.

"I didn't ask for this to happen…ever since the village was destroyed, it's just been one bad thing after another, but this…this surpasses it all. I'm a f**king werewolf, for Christ's sake."

"But if you had never been forced off of your island, you never would have found me, right?"

"Yeah, but this also wouldn't have happened…I'm a monster."

"No, you're not. A monster is an uncontrollable creature that exists only to spread fear and dread through the world. Just because you look like a monster doesn't mean you are one."

Before Eric had another chance to argue, Felicia pressed her lips to his snout. All at once he felt every negative emotion in him lift off his shoulders. Slowly yet surely, he smiled.

"Thanks…I guess it's true what they say about you. You don't have enemies. Just friends with differences."

"And by the way, you look really cute as a werewolf."

Eric got a brief look of confusion, but then looked in the mirror at himself and grinned.

"Yeah. I guess I don't look half bad…but there is one thing about turning into a werewolf I don't like."

"What's that?"

"Well, the fur growing out of nearly every pore in your body, all the bones shifting around, your muscles getting pumped up to nearly Schwarzenegger size, your spine and your skull extending…I'm not gonna lie. It kinda hurts."

_I bet it does. __That's enough developing Eric for now. And believe it or not, next chapter we get to another Darkstalker fight, but not in the way you're probably thinking. _

_Also, a brief notice. I'm putting Star Fox: Subspecies on hold until this fanfic is complete, mainly because thinking up a fanfic from scratch is a lot harder than having a "noob" rough draft, then retyping it into something tolerable. In terms of future projects, I'm thinking of making fanfics based on Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear, and Pokemon, but they're way too far off to start writing now. Not to mention I've got my own original things to work on and school. So while you won't see as much material as you did when I was regularly posting SFNG chapters, let it be known that I'm working on it. _

_And with that, I'll see you folks next time._


	9. Rock and Roll All Night, Fight Everyday

Chapter Nine

**Rock and Roll All Night, Fight Every Day**

Adam let out a comforting yawn as he sat up in his bed and rubbed the remaining drowsiness out of his eyes.

"Another great morning, and with it more of my memory."

He stood up and stretched before noticing that Morrigan had been sleeping in the bed along with him. Her eyes were still closed in a luscious way that suited her. All she had worn to bed was a black bra and a thong, and she appeared to have had her wings wrapped around him before he had gotten up.

He smiled at her.

"Just being with her again makes this whole ordeal worth it." he sighed.

He walked into the main room of the villa on his way to the bathroom and spotted a rather odd sight. Not that on one of the two couches in the room was the loudly snoring Ryu and on the other was the peacefully resting Chun-Li, but sleeping on a mattress laid out on the floor was a tall and muscular man who was bare-chested and had extremely spiky white hair. He was breathing heavily and was curled up in a way that seemed almost dog-like.

It was Jon in his human form.

"How does that guy not have a wife yet?" Adam pondered. "He's completely ripped!"

Then he walked into the bathroom, and once he saw his face, he yelled out in shock. The yell was loud enough to wake up everyone in the room and make them run to the bathroom to see what was wrong. What they saw was very odd indeed. There was a light red substance caking Adam's lips and teeth, and from the way his tongue was stained red, it was conceivable he had drank some of it.

Morrigan dabbed a bit of it on her finger and wiped it across her tongue.

"This is cow blood." she concluded after a few minutes of analysis. "I pity the poor bovine that got bitten by your chompers."

"What, you think I went out in the middle of the night and bit a cow?!" Adam sputtered. "I don't even remember getting up last night!"

"Just don't rule out the possibility. I'm not saying you DID do it, but there's always the remote chance that you did."

"How the hell could he possibly have snuck out so late at night, Morrigan?" Ryu asked. "He'd have to get past the four of us. I'll have you know that I'm a light sleeper."

"Right, like the time you LIGHTLY slept through a thunderstorm that went on for about a half hour." Chun-Li chuckled.

"…okay, there was that one time, but you know what I mean!"

"My friends." Jon called from the other end of the room as he turned on the TV. "This news report seems to be related to our current dilemma."

The five of them looked at the TV and listened.

"It was here on this farm just south of Hinode that an unidentified being was sighted attacking the farm's cattle. The owner of this property had this to say."

The screen cut to an elderly man who seemed very shocked but not overtly frightened.

"I came outside hearing one of the cows mooing so loud it woke up my wife." he said. "When I saw the cow, it was on the ground with some kid pressing his mouth against its neck. I didn't get a good look at his face, but he looked as though he were sleep-walking and there was blood all over his mouth when he finally left. I didn't dare get anywhere near him in case he tried to do anything like that on me."

The screen cut back to the reporter.

"The local police have been notified and have encouraged anyone who sees a sight like this to report it to them immediately."

Jon muted the TV as he and the others looked at Adam, who stood there in shock and tried to deny everything he had just seen.

"Th-that could have been anyone!" he sputtered. "Besides, even if it was me, the cow's fine. See?"

On the TV it was showing the cow that had been bitten. It had four very noticeable red marks on its neck, but it didn't seem to care. It kept chewing its cud like nothing had happened.

"That may be, but we're still keeping an eye on you in case it was you that went out there last night." Chun-Li replied.

"Okay, fine. I swear on my life that it wasn't me. What would I accomplish drinking a cow's blood?"

Then came the slowing of time and the muting of sound. Then came the voice.

"Where there's no more room in hell, he will walk the stage of Yagami Arena in twelve hours."

Everything returned to normal.

"No more room in hell…" Adam muttered.

"Lord Raptor." Morrigan replied.

**LATER**

"Lord Raptor?" Eric asked. "Who's that?"

"This zombie guy from Britain." Morrigan answered. "I'm not gonna lie: he's a little on the insane side."

"Aren't they all? And speaking of which, Jon…there's a question I've been meaning to ask you."

Jon turned to Eric.

"Yes, young Master?"

"Uhh…did you just call me…actually, never mind. My question was why did you go all primal on me and Felicia?"

"I am not sure. As I said, I remember the strange man approaching me and saying I was one of the thirteen, and then nothing."

"You don't think that…Adam's memories made him do that, do you?" Felicia questioned.

"Don't be stupid, kid." Ryu scoffed. "How could someone's memories make someone a feral beast?"

"I don't know. I'm just considering the possibility, that's all."

Adam bit his lip. Everyone in the group talking about him was starting to get very irritating, even if they were just considering possibilities and not directly pointing fingers at him. He managed to get them to stop for a moment when he said: "We should probably head to that arena and meet this Raptor guy before he starts causing trouble."

The party followed him down the street, and on the way there, they heard multiple people discussing some subject that Adam wasn't able to pick up until they were right in front of said arena.

"I guess we're not getting' any newcomers for a while, then." a man said.

"Yeah. But hey, after what's been happening the past few nights, we can't be too careful."

"Excuse me," Adam interrupted. "But I overheard you just now. What are you talking about?"  
"You don't know?" the first man replied. "They've built a wall around the city that closes every night at ten."

"A wall? For what?"

"I guess it has something to do with that cow incident that was on TV this morning, but I heard that there were two werewolves duking it out by Yokai Hill last night. The mayor of the city doesn't want anyone to get hurt, so he had the wall put up."

"Huh…odd."

He shrugged it off and kept walking with the rest of the group until they arrived at the arena.

"This must be the place." Chun-Li said.

"No doubt about that." Eric agreed jerking his thumb at a huge poster up on the wall. "Sheesh, this guy even LOOKS like he belongs in an asylum."

The man on the poster was violet-skinned and had purple hair spiking out in all directions. He was also holding a guitar that seemed to have a pulsating eye on its body and headstock. He was bare-chested, which wasn't exactly attractive in his case because he was very thin and lanky. Most noticeable was his face, which looked more like a skull than a real human visage.

Morrigan hadn't been kidding The guy was a zombie.

"Alright, then. Let's head in and find this guy." Adam said before attempting to wake through the gate.

Sadly, he was stopped by a woman cynically chewing some bubble gum and had a lazy look in her eyes.

"Show's not 'til eight, pal." she said.

"I really need to see Lord Raptor."

"So does everyone else. Besides, do you have a ticket?"

"That doesn't matter to me right now!"  
"Well it should, because you can't get in without a ticket."

"Are you freakin'…okay, how much?"  
"15000."

"Yen?!"  
"No, views on Youtube. Yes, yen!"

"Uhh…I don't have that much."

"Then go get a job. Until you have the money, I ain't givin' you a ticket, so get out of my face!"  
"Sheesh. It would surprise me if you have any friends."

Adam walked back and threw up his arms in defeat.

"No good. We need 15000 yen, and I'll bet my britches that that's each."

"That's alright." Morrigan insisted. "We can just get some money from Felicia, right? I mean, she's in a rock band! She's got enough money to buy a mansion."

"Wrong." Eric put in. "Felicia's a real shopaholic so our manager put her on a monthly budget. And much to our misfortune, she's already spent said budget."

"I am not a shopaholic!" Felicia whined.

"Shit…" Adam groaned. "How're we gonna make enough money to get in there? I'm not robbing a bank or nothin'!"  
"How about the Pit, then?" Chun-Li suggested.

"What's that?"

"It's a fighting arena. They hold daily tournaments and give away prizes of up to 100000 yen, and if I'm right, that should cover all of us."

"Really? …still, I don't know about a tournament. Seems a little too risky."

"That's my thought on the matter, so unless anyone has a better idea, I say we head there."

None of them had a better idea, so Chun-Li was the one to follow this time. The Pit itself looked much like the Roman Coliseum, and people were already gathering inside to wait for the first fight of the tournament to begin. Upon asking the receptionist where they could sign up, they were informed that they could choose three people from their party to fight.

"Master Adam, if it suits you, I believe I should be one to fight with you." Jon urged. "It shall be a great first step to atone for my attacking of you previously."

"I've been itching to get some fighting done, too, so I'll go with the two of you if that's alright." Chun-Li put in.

Once Chun-Li, Adam, and Jon had been selected, the rest of the party walked off to find some seats while the three of them were ushered into the locker room and asked to wait until they were called on. When they were, they were led out into a sandy ring at the bottom of numerous bleachers. The arena was truly grand, and once the three saw the rest of the party cheering them on with the other audience members, they knew they were ready.

Their opponents appeared on the other side of the ring and charged right at them. Chun-Li readied her fists, Adam brandished Enotita, Jon twirled his billy club, and…

**SCENE CUT DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS AND LACK OF INTEREST…SORRY ABOUT THAT =(**

"ACE TO THE 64th POWER!" Adam cheered, the medals around his, Jon's, and Chun-Li's necks as he and the party proceeded back to the arena with the prize money in hand.  
"That was so amazing, you guys!" Felicia whooped. "You really stuck it to that Poison chick at the end!"

"Yeah, but something about her seemed a little off." Chun-Li said in deep thought. "Did she seem a little less feminine than say…Morrigan to you?"

"Would that be another way of saying less attractive?" Morrigan cooed. "If so, then thanks a bunch, hon."

"Huh…great…"

They arrived at the arena and shoved the money into the girl's hand.

"Seven tickets. Pronto." Adam said with a smirk.

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Great. You won the Pit tournament. You think anyone cares?" she said in disgust.

Nevertheless, she produced seven tickets and handed them to them.

"You've got five minutes before the show starts. Better get in there if you wanna meet the guy."

They entered and proceeded into the area where they could hear very loud cheering. When they arrived, they saw that there were no regular seats; just one huge mosh pit. There were already about 5,000 people there, eagerly awaiting Adam's next opponent.

"Just how famous is this guy?" Adam asked.

"I heard that during his last concert while he was alive, he played so well that he accidentally killed himself and tons of his fans." Morrigan replied.

"He's a musician, too, huh?" Felicia asked. "What music does he play?"

'Heavy metal…so yeah, Felicia. Cover your ears. It's gonna get loud."

And it got loud right then. Out ripped a loud E-chord that filled the entire room with a huge blast of sound. Everyone cheered save for the party who was trying to figure out what was going on. The invisible guitarist began shredding away, and in three fiery flashes, three zombies appeared on the stage. The one on drums was female and had a psychedelic look going on, further exemplified by the headband she wore, the laid back look she had on her face, and when she twirled her sticks in her hands and held up one hand, giving the two-fingered peace sign. The one on bass was male and wore a tattered leather jacket. Part of his face was eaten away and he appeared to have nails sticking out of his skull, as well as having six huge bone-like protrusions forming a mohawk on his head. Finally on guitar and standing in front of the mic was Lord Raptor himself.

"Good evening, Hinode!" he yelled to the crowd in a loud cockney accent, who burst in cheers. "Who's ready to rock out or die trying tonight?!"

He was answered with even louder cheers, and off the band went into their first song. It was heavy and had an industrial sound to it, but oddly, Adam was starting to like it.

"This music is so loud!" Felicia yelled over the booming bass and guitar.

"It's heavy metal, honey!" Morrigan called back. "Get used to it!"

On and on it went, from a single blistering guitar solo to an eight-minute long power ballad. By the time they seemed to wrap up their setlist, two hours had passed.

"And that's how you play a metal show, mates!" Raptor yelled out. "Now how 'bout we change it up a bit?!"

Everyone, including the party this time, cheered.

"Right, then!I'll pick one a you blokes and you come on up here, right? Lessee…how 'bout you, mate? Shaggy hair in the torn shirt!"

The party realized that Raptor had called on Eric, and now one of the spotlights was pointed on him. Eric was a little shocked that he had been chosen out of all of these people, but he ran up to the stage and hoisted himself up nonetheless, throwing his arms up once he got there with a huge smile. Felicia was the one who seemed to cheer the loudest.

"Go for it, Eric!"

"Alright, now! What's your name, mate?" Raptor asked.

"Eric. Eric Matri."

"Nice name, mate. Now what've you gotta say to our crowd here?"

"Raptor, for my friend Adam, I'm going to defeat you!"

"Defeat me? 'The hell for?"

"Did a strange man approach you and call you one of the thirteen?"

"Yeah. What do you know about it?"

"The thirteen Darkstalkers Adam must face to reclaim his lost memory. You're one of them."

"Then why are you up here?"

"Because you picked me. Why else?"

"I don't see a weapon on ya, mate. Looks like you lost before we even got started."

"In that case, hand me an axe. I challenge you to a guitar duel!"

The crowd cheered. Two guys shredding against one another was probably the best end to a concert they had ever seen. The party was worried, but after Eric had told them how well he could shred, their doubts were less strong.

Raptor seemed to like the idea, because he smirked and produced another guitar.

"Your weapon, mate. Let's get goin' and make this show the best ever!"

Eric smirked, slung the guitar over his shoulder and inserted the pick between his thumb and finger. The two of them readied as the drummer tapped them in and…

**SCENE MISSING DUE TO THE AUTHOR NOT KNOWING HOW TO WRITE GUITAR DUEL SCENES (insert Peter Griffin style laugh here). Just turn on "Black Widow of la Porte" by John 5, skip ahead to 4:37, and let your imagination run wild from there.**

Raptor was mock-bowing in honoured defeat once Eric shredded the final bit of the song. It was over. Eric was triumphant, and Adam would be able to receive the third piece of his memories back.

"Hot damn!" Raptor laughed. "You sure know how to rip it up, mate!"

"So does that mean you'll give Adam his memories back?"

"Absolutely! But…I don't wanna get off the stage yet! You folks want an encore?!"

The whole crowd cheered, especially the party.

"Alright, then, mate!" Raptor said to Eric. "You take the mic! Let's do this!"

Eric put his guitar down and stepped up to the microphone. The drummer tapped them in, and…

Don't worry I'm not cutting off the scene this time.

"ALL ABOOOOOOOOARD, HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!"

The bassist let out the smooth line which the drummer imitated, and Raptor shredded away on the main riff. By then, everyone was jumping along, and it only got better once Eric began singing.

"_Crazy, but that's how it goes._

_Millions of people living as foes._

_Maybe it's not too late._

_Turn learn how to love and forget how to hate._

_Mental wounds not healing, life's a bitter shame _EVERYBODY!

_I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train!"_

Raptor slammed his foot down on a pedal on the ground, and all at once the roof began splitting open, letting the moonlight come flooding in. As soon as it shined on Eric, his eyes bugged out and he fell down to his knees as the pain overtook him again, and before everyone's eyes, he shifted into werewolf form. Raptor and the band had stopped playing just to marvel at what had happened. When Eric stood, he expected everyone to scream and run out the room, but instead they all started…cheering?

"AWESOME!"

"WEREWOLVES RULE!"

"LET'S HEAR YOU HOWL, MAN!"

Even Raptor was applauding.

"Bloody hell, mate, you're even more epic than you were two minutes ago!"

Eric smirked and shrugged.

"Shit happens. Now then…"

"_I've listened to preachers, I've listened to fools."_

"_I've watched all the drop-outs who make their own rules._

_One person conditioned to rule and control._

_The media sells it, and you live the role._

_Mental wounds still screaming, driving me insane _LET ME HERE YOU!

_I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train!"_

Everyone was jumping along, looking ready to riot, and as Eric continued on, Raptor and the band banged their heads along to the beat. Not like it would give them a headache later considering all three of them were dead.

"_I know that thing are going wrong for me."_

"_You gotta listen to my words, yeah, yeah YEAH!"_

And off Raptor went. Hammering-on, pulling-off, tap-strumming, and a tremolo picking his way through Randy Rhoad's intense solo. At one point he stretched his fingers too far and a few of them popped out, but using some supernatural means, they worked fine on their own and continued with the solo, even adding in an extra tapping sequence making it sound more like DragonForce than Ozzy Osbourne.

But did the audience care? Of course not! Even as dead bodies rose from underneath the floor and started moshing along with those that were alive, no one stopped. About halfway through the solo, Raptor threw himself into the audience in a spectacular stage dive. Eric could swear he saw his head pop off, but one of the fans fitted it back into place almost instantly, and by the time Raptor got back, it was time for the third verse.

"_Heirs of the Cold War, that's what we've become._

_Inherited troubles, I'm mentally numb._

_Crazy, I just cannot bear._

_I'm livin' with something that just isn't fair."_

By then, Felicia was moshing along. She was new to this whole "heavy metal" thing, but so far, she liked it. Maybe that's because Eric was singing it, or who knew.

"_Mental wounds not healing, who and what's to blame?_

_I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train!_

ONE MORE TIME, EVERYBODY!_"_

The whole crowd, whether they were zombies or humans or members of the party who we actually care about, screamed the last line

"_I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train!"_

With that, the band closed off the song while the loud horn of a train echoed throughout the room until Raptor hit the last chord. Everyone in the audience cheered, and the band simultaneously dipped into a bow before the lights shut off.

**ONE DRESSING ROOM VISIT LATER…**

"Okay. Ready, Raptor?" Adam asked as Raptor stood in front of him.

"Whenever you are, boss."

Adam nodded and laid his hand on Raptor's forehead. Everything slowed down and his vision blurred out, but what he saw wasn't anything like he had expected. He was looking through someone's eyes as they found themselves lying on a beach, and Adam saw his mother running toward them. When the person he was looking through spoke, Adam knew something was wrong because the voice that spoke was not his.

"**Are you alright, sir?!"  
"Yes…please, where am I?"  
"This is Demezoi. My name is Atlanta Kratos.**

"**Atlanta…such a lovely name. It suits you."**

Here Atlanta hauled the man to his feet and helped him limp away.

"**Please sir, let me take you to my house. There's plenty of food and drink there."**

"**Ah…bless you, young maiden."**

"**Sir…what is your name?"**

"**Forgive me. I should have formally introduced myself. My name is…"**

The memory stopped and Adam's vision returned to normal.

"What the hell?" he questioned.

"What did you see?" Morrigan asked.  
"I saw my mother…the island we lived on…it was called Demezoi, right?"

"Yes. It was an island a few miles south of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea."

"Yeah, but what I saw wasn't my memory. It was someone else's. I was…seeing through a different man's eyes."

"A different man? Who?"

"I don't know…I didn't see his face."

"Sounds like quite a pity, boss." Raptor said, crossing his arms. "Need some help with that?"

"What, now YOU wanna go with us?" Adam questioned. "Don't you still have that tour you're planning out?"

"Ah, the hell with it! I need some excitement, mate! C'mon! Let's see how far we can take this!"

Adam rolled his eyes. Somehow he got the feeling that this guy was going to be more of a nuisance than a help. And from the way Raptor's eyes kept shifting around, Adam felt more like the zombie rocker would shred his head off (pun intended) the moment he had his back turned.

But as they say, every little bit helps.

"Fine by me. Let's go."

_**(LORD RAPTOR HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

_This chapter didn't take too long to write for obvious reasons. Sorry about cutting the guitar duel and the Pit fight, but I really didn't know how I was going to do those. But whatever. All's well that ends well._

_I would really like to have some sort of cover image for this fanfic the same way I had one for SFNG, that for that on I just took an image of the team and rearranged it in Paint. If someone could actually make an image depicting the characters of this story, I'd really appreciate it because I really do suck at drawing. Butindirect pleading aside, stay tuned for the next chapter featuring a fight against_ **SCENE CUT DUE TO SPOILER ALERT**


	10. Facing the In-Law

Chapter Ten

**Facing the In-Law**

Morrigan gazed lustfully at the sleeping Adam's face as the moonlight streaming in through the curtains shone on the two of them. It seemed to almost gleam off of them thanks to their pale skin, and Adam's hair just made the whole complexion complete.

"If only I could do what I've wanted to do with you for the entire time I've known you." she sighed.

She felt the need to simply go outside and fly around, just to get some fresh air. Normally on a night like this she'd be looking for a man to entertain herself with, but she never got that longing anymore after meeting Adam. She knew exactly what it was, but there was simply no way to express it. All because he was a human.

Taking special care not to wake up Adam, Morrigan opened the window and flew off into the night. Little did she know that as soon as she went out, something else came in, laid itself beside Adam, and pressed its head to his.

And just like that, Adam's eyes began twitching in their sockets as he began to dream…

**Dreaming…**

Adam stood alone in the distorted and violet hue of the hotel's main lobby, completely unable to point out exactly what was going on and what he was even doing there to begin with. Last he checked he had fallen asleep in a villa on the twentieth floor. Why was he at ground level now?

"Meh. Whatever." he shrugged. "I could use a walk."

The moment he moved, he heard a faint echo of a giggle coming from somewhere beneath him. He spun around and looked at every possible nook and cranny, but he saw no one. If there was one thing he had learned with Morrigan, though, it was that things aren't always what they seem, and it seemed that there was a really big shadow coming towards him. Therefore it SEEMED that he'd have to make a run for it.

He slammed on the elevator button, but nothing happened. No doors opening, no sliding sound to indicate that the car was coming down the shaft, nothing. And the shadow kept coming closer.

"Son of a…" Adam grumbled before taking off up the stairs as fast as he could.

It didn't seem to matter how fast and vigorously he ran. The shadow wouldn't stop following him, slowly swallowed the ground underneath it as it chased him up the stairs. Floor after floor Adam ran, his chest heaving and his lungs ready to burst by the time he made it back to the twentieth floor. He didn't have the room key in his pocket, so he simply slammed into the door as hard as he could. That seemed to do the trick as he fell flat on his face when the door popped open. He then slammed it shut with his foot. The shadow didn't seem to creep after him once he had done so.

"What on God's green Earth was that?" he panted, lowering his face on the floor and giving himself a moment to get his heart rate back to normal. "No, wait, I know what it was. It was the author using a dream to deter from the main story and just drag the thing out longer than necessary."

Yes. Yes it is, Adam. Good eye.

He got up and rubbed his eyes wearily before walking towards his bed, ready to just collapse on it. What he didn't notice was that no one else was in the villa. Not Ryu and Chun-Li on the couches, not Jon on the mattress, not Raptor in the bathtub (for some reason he thought it was a good spot). Not even Morrigan in the bed, but what WAS in the bed got Adam's attention as he stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway.

Sleeping in the bed was a little girl, looking about twelve years old. Her short tomboyish hair was a light violet colour, and her skin was so pale that she looked almost like a doll. She seemed so tranquil in her sleep, but she yawned and sat up, stretching her slender arms and opening her eyes. To Adam's nervousness, she was now staring right at him, and all he could do was look at her with wide eyes and try not to seem too shocked.

The moment she set her eyes on him, two large wings appeared on her back along with two smaller ones on her head, nearly in the same style as Morrigan. In fact, when the girl hovered out of the bed and towards Adam, she was wearing the same outfit Morrigan had been wearing when Adam had run into her a few days ago, albeit red instead of black, blue instead of purple, and far less revealing.

She floated closer to him into she was right in front of Adam's face, and with that came a bright smile.

"Hi there!" she said in a soft and child-like voice. "What's your name?"

"…Adam…just out of curiosity, does your name happen to be…Lilith?"

"Yeah…how did you know?"

"I don't know. I just…did."

Lilith gently wrapped her arms around Adam's torso and pulled herself against him. She was much shorter than he was, but for some reason, he couldn't look away from her. Lilith herself seemed to be indulging in Adam's muscularity, completely in love with how strong he felt.

"Adam…would I be okay if I kissed you?" she asked.

"Wait…what?"  
"You're so handsome…there's just something about you that really gets me going. I really want to kiss you for some reason. Please?"

Adam didn't confirm nor deny that he was willing to let her do it. He just kept staring into her lovely eyes as she pulled herself up towards his face, giving light breathes that grazed his lips. Just when it seemed like they were about to make contact…

**Awakening…**

Up went his eyelids as he woke up lying in bed…with a violet-haired succubus on all fours over him just inches from his face!

He screamed and kicked her in the stomach as hard as he could, sending her shooting through the window and making a loud shatter that oddly didn't wake anybody up.

"What the hell…she wasn't just a dream?!" he panted.

Slowly, he got out of bed, grabbing Enotita and readying it in case Lilith popped back up. He approached the shattered window, taking care not to touch the sharp glass, when suddenly a gigantic hand reached up from outside, grabbed him and dragged him out. He screamed again as he fell through the open air, but was caught by Lilith and gently lowered to the ground.

"That was fun!" she chirped. "Let's keep playing, okay?"

Adam pushed her away and gripped at his sword.  
"What do you want?!" he yelled at her.

"I want you, silly! What's not to get about that?"

"What do you want me for?!"

Here she nuzzled her shoulder with her nose as she tightly hugged herself.

"Well…you know…"

Reverse pedophilia. It ain't pleasant.

"Wha…no! How can a kid your age be into that kind of dirty stuff?!"

"I dunno. How can a cute guy like you NOT be into that kind of dirty stuff?"

"It's morality, and I seem to have more of it than you."

Lilith's face fell and she looked down at her feet.

"Now you're hurting my feelings. I just wanted to play, and all you can do is just yell at me."

Adam could spot tears gently start to seep from her eyes, and right away his sense of pity took over. He released the grip on his blade and walked toward her.

"Hey, look. I'm sorry. I guess I was just a little startled by GOOD GRIEF PUT ME DOWN!"

In one swift motion, Lilith had morphed one wing into a giant bow-like protrusion, and morphed the other into a giant hand, grabbing Adam and loading him in.

"Just kidding!" Lilith said happily before firing her human arrow right at a wall.

Much to her excitement, Adam flipped around in mid-air and kicked himself off the wall, landing with his feet on the ground.

"You wanna play rough?! Okay! Say hello to my little friend…or should I say big bladed friend."

He unsheathed his blade, but instead of lunging at her, he waited for her to make the first move. Thankfully, she did. She dove right at him and made a violent grab at him, to which he responded by performing a vicious spin attack. She nimbly twisted her body around the blade in a near Matrix kind of way and dug her finger nails into his chest, scraping them along and leaving bloody gashes. This forced Adam to jump back in pain.

"What the hell was that?!" he cried.

"What? Didn't that feel good?"

"…Good Lord, don't tell me you're some kind of masochist!"

Lilith giggled and changed her wings into the same ropes that Morrigan used, albeit these were red as opposed to black. She began whipping them at him at a blinding speed, and it was then that Adam drew a comparison between the two: Morrigan was stronger, but this Lilith girl (whoever she was) was much faster. The ropes had themselves around him in less than three seconds and had him tied up on the ground as Lilith pressed herself down on him.

Not just a masochist, Adam, but a sadomasochist!

"STOP TALKING TO ME!"

Adam kept struggling as hard as he could to get free, but Lilith's wing-ropes had a grip of iron. She gently started brushing up against him, nuzzling him with her nose and hair. She appeared to be trying to arouse him, but really all it was doing was making him more shocked and appalled. How could a girl that looked so young be so sadistic as to tie an eighteen-year old boy up and then attempt to have a sexual encounter with him?!

Adam didn't care. The second one of the ropes came up to his mouth to try and gag him, he bit down on it as hard as he could. Lilith screamed in pain as his canine teeth actually sliced through and she pulled back once he had let go.

"Ouch! That really hurt!" she whined.

"That's the idea of a fight: to hurt the opponent. Now stop playing around and either fight for real or beat it!"

"Fine. Be that way, but I'm gonna have fun beating the crap out of you, jerk."

She lunged at him again, morphing her wings into huge scythe-like blades and swinging them inward at Adam's neck. He ducked and rolled under her legs before delivering a sharp back kick to her shoulder blade. The little succubus returned the favour by kicking him in the stomach with her stiletto-like heels and…

"SOUL FLARE!"

She crossed her arms in front of her with open hands in an X-formation and slashed them downward. A huge blast of energy that temporarily blinded Adam appeared from her forearms. Even worse was that it lifted him off the ground and sent him flying onto his back.

"Kid's got skills…damn."

Adam picked himself up off the ground and blocked Lilith's next slash with his prosthetic arm before shoving her away and using his sword like a baseball bat to launch her into the air. As was to be expected, Lilith simply flapped her wings and held herself away from him. Then she began teasing him by flying in close enough for him to get a hit, and then pulling back the moment he moved. Every other time, she jabbed at him with the ropes and managed to get a sharp poke in each time.

Once Adam was sure she was just going to jump away as soon as he swung at her again, she dove forward.

"VALKYRIE DIVE!"

Her legs morphed into a single conjoined blade and plummeted down towards Adam, who flipped out of the way and managed to slam his heel into her chin, but her leg blade still slashed across the underside of his thigh. It seemed like no matter how swiftly he moved, there was no chance he'd be able to outrun this crazy kid of a succubus, especially when she was flying all over the place and dancing just out of his reach.

"Come on! Try a little harder! I'm starting to have fun!" Lilith said, not quite mocking Adam but still letting him know that he wasn't beating her.

"How about you come down here and actually gimme a real fight?! I'm getting old here!"

"But that's no fun! The more I tease you, the harder you'll try, right?"

"…you have a point there, but I'm starting to be more irritated by you than disturbed by you!"

"Well, if you weren't such a prude, maybe being bound and gagged wouldn't disturb you!"

Little did she know that while she had been talking, Adam had spotted something lying on the ground along with all of the other litter left by pedestrians that didn't seem to care about sanitation: a very long chain among other metal debris. All at once, he came up with an idea. First thing was first, though. He needed to distract Lilith.

"You know, I don't know if anyone's told you this, but you really need to lose some weight."

He hadn't been certain that this would have the same effect on her as it did on Morrigan, but from the way her eyelid twitched, he could tell that he would've been in big trouble if this hadn't been part of his plan.

"You don't ever! EVER!" she yelled before diving at him again.

"Just as I thought. GREAT SOUL BEAM!"

The beam slammed into Lilith and sent her crashing into a wall, as well as obscured her vision long enough for Adam to put the next step of his plan into action. When Lilith could see again, Adam was nowhere to be found.

"Hey! Where'd you go?!" she called.

Where he had gone was actually behind the bush right underneath her, the place she was least likely to look. Adam had taken the chain and began to work as Lilith combed the area in search of the young man.

Adam had noticed the strange grooves in his arm before he had gone to bed, and if he was lucky, what he was about to do would be perfect. He slowly removed the hand from his prosthetic arm (which had been magnetically attached) and placed in a spring where it had been before. Then he took the chain and wrapped it around the pole that connected his hand to the rest of his arm, attaching it to the spring. Finally, before reattaching his hand, he ran the first coil of the spring through the small hole at the bottom of his arm into the groove on his bicep and then stuck in a small fold-in lever.

A small upgrade that he wasn't even sure would work, but it was worth a try. He stepped up from the bush while Lilith still had her back turned to him, and before she could look, he raised his hand and pulled the lever. The spring contracted, and when he let go, it shot forward and jetted forward, allowing him to seize Lilith's neck. He smiled.

"What the…?!" Lilith sputtered.

"GET OVER HERE!"

Adam pulled the lever back, and the chain retracted quickly, dragging Lilith down to the ground as Adam's hand reattached. And with that, he grabbed her from behind and suplexed her. She let out a light cry of pain, then soft whimpering as she stood up, oddly not shaken too badly.

"Ow…why do you have to be so rough?" she whined. "I just wanted to play, you big meanie!"

"Your definition of play is very different from mine, kid. Now let's end this so I can get back to sleep!"

Off they went trading blow for blow, Lilith knowing that fly away wasn't going to do her any good now that Adam could grab her from twenty feet away. Occasional Soul Flare that was just countered with an Aura Parry, and then an occasional Rapid Spirit Fire that Lilith just used wing ropes to deflect. Lilith even tried to bind Adam again, but he simply stepped on the first rope that came near his leg and that ruled out that.

Just when Lilith was beginning to think she had the upper hand and grabbed Adam with her giant wing fist, she got a good look into his eyes. At first she attempted to bring him under her hypnotic spell just like she had in his dream, but something didn't click. His eyes had gleamed a dark red the moment she had looked into them, and for the first time in her life, she was afraid of a boy.

All at once, she released him, both surprising and confusing Adam.

"What now?" he demanded. "Are you gonna break down and cry and then cut my head off as soon as I try to help you?"

"No…I give up…you scare me."

"Oh, so that's your…wait, what?"

"There's something wrong with your eyes! They just…never mind, just forget about OUCH!"

She had suddenly clutched at her head and fallen to her knees. Adam flinched and readied his blade, thinking that she had made an attempt to attack him again.

"It hurts…" she whined. "Why does this keep happening…ever since he just showed up and grabbed me like that."

Ever since "he" showed up? Was this the same he that Jon and Raptor had been talking about? In that case, maybe Lilith wasn't so bad, after all.

Adam's sense of pity took over and he sheathed his blade before kneeling down beside her.

"I think I might know what's wrong." he said.

"You do? Please make it stop!"

"Okay. Just hold still a…"

"I think that's about enough of that, Lily dear."

Black ropes came shooting in out of nowhere, binding Lilith and dragging her up off the ground. As soon as Lilith saw who had bound her, she began kicking and screaming and trying her hardest to get loose.

"I was wondering where you went, young lady." Morrigan chuckled. "Do you know how worried I've been about you?"

Frightened tears slipped out of Lilith's eyes as she trashed harder, but that just made the ropes tighter, beginning to cut off her air. In another state of confusion, Adam stepped forward.

"Morrigan, just what the hell is going on?"

"Oh, you two haven't been introduced?" Morrigan asked. "Well, Adam, there's a bit of history behind this young thing. My adopted father was under the idea that my powers were too great for me to control, so he split my soul into three pieces. One of them developed a mind of its own, and this is the result: my little sister of sorts named Lilith."

"She's part of you?!...no wonder she got pissed when I called her fat."

Morrigan shrieked in pain when Lilith bit down on one of the ropes. She released her temporarily, letting the young succubus run right into Adam's arms.

"Please don't let her do it…I can't take being part of her again, I just can't!" she bawled. "I'M NOT GOING TO GO BACK IN THE DARK!"

"What?! What's she blubbering about now?!"

Morrigan sighed as she came down to the ground.

"Since she's a part of me, that means that in order to regain some of my lost power, I have to absorb her into me. She knows that. It's her fate."

"Please don't let her eat me, Adam!" Lilith cried. "I'll do anything! Anything!"

For Adam, it was no contest. His sense of pity was much stronger than his sense of justice, and once Lilith had shed enough tears onto his shirt, he laid a hand on her head. She looked up at him somewhat fearfully, but seeing the compassionate smile soothed her.

"It's okay. I won't let anything bad happen to you." he said softly.

"…you mean it?"

"Cross my heart."

Lilith's tears came again, this time from happy relief. She squeezed herself tighter against Adam.

"Thank you…God bless you."

"Easy there, sunshine. You're gonna squeeze the life out of me."

Morrigan was less than happy with what was going on.

"Adam, she isn't supposed to…"

"Morrigan, please just leave her alone. She's scared to death of you and she's too injured to fight back. Besides, she has a piece of my memory."

Lilith looked up at him again.

"I what?"

"Hold still, okay?"

Adam gently placed his hand on her forehead, and in came the memories of people he had known. A younger version of himself, possibly at age seven, was sitting on a table with a very big but very friendly looking man attaching his prosthetic arm.

"**Just hold still there now, Adam. This is gonna hurt for a second." **

The arm's prongs bit into the younger Adam's flesh. He winced for but a moment, then moved around his new arm.

"**Wow! Thanks, Cecil!"**

In rushed a younger Eric with a beaming face.

"**I told you he could he could make you a new arm, Adam!"**

Then it flashed to other various people, from the village chief to the carpenter to the fishermen. All his friends that he had forgotten about. A tear came to his eye when the memories stopped.

"A whole year…I haven't seen any of them in a whole year."

"Okay, now that that little scandal is over with," Morrigan butted in. "Would you mind stepping away from her for a minute? You probably don't want to watch this."

"No, Morrigan."

"What?!"

"She seems like…a lost soul to me. She didn't drag me out here and fight me to be mean. She just doesn't know any better. Besides, she's one hell of a fighter! We could really use her on the team!"

"But…"

"The answer's no, Morrigan. You're not going to absorb her."

Morrigan scowled while Lilith hugged Adam again. Adam himself looked up at the smashed window on the twentieth floor and grew a look of concern.  
"Sheesh. Housekeeping's gonna be pissed."

_**(LILITH HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

_Yeah, you knew I couldn't write a Darkstalkers fanfic without throwing Lilith in there. It may be surprising that I know who Lilith is even though I never played any of the Darkstalkers games. Well, I've done the research beforehand, so I guess that should be enough considering finding a Darkstalkers arcade game is nearly impossible up in my neck of the woods so to speak. Nothin' else to say, really,and that's why I say so long and good night._


	11. Demon VS Robot All Out Attack CLASH!

Chapter Eleven

**Demon VS Robot All Out Attack CLASH!**

_(Please excuse the absurd title…)_

**The next morning…**

"He is hidden away far across the land just south of Tokyo. He will be used to their advantage in by nightfall if you do not hurry."

Adam's eyes snapped open upon hearing that, and all it did was make him more frustrated than he already was. He wanted to go back to the time when the people he knew and loved on Demezoi were still alive, even though he had come to the conclusion that at least some of them had to be alright somewhere. He wanted to go back to the life he knew, not just run around a foreign country chasing monsters to try and get his memory back. But it was just like Morrigan had said. He couldn't go back to that life. It was over. It was over the moment Skia had been stuck into him.

"And I have to ask…how does this priestess know so much about me?"

He'd have to find out, and he didn't care if she tried to ignore him. It was his past they were talking about and he had the right to know every filthy detail.

He took special care as he got out of bed to not wake up Lilith (Morrigan had been forced to sleep on a rollaway bed brought up from the lobby because Lilith wanted to sleep with Adam that night and he didn't want them anywhere near each other. Morrigan herself wasn't exactly happy about this and complained for a good five minutes until Adam promised it was just for one night), and he slowly crept out of the room. Soon enough, he was outside and making his way down the road and up the hill.

**Back to the church…**

Adam carefully cracked the vine-covered door open and stepped inside the church. The rising sun truly exemplified everything inside, from the stained glass-windows depicting Jesus Christ to the fine organ that sat just a few feet in front of him. The church really was a sight to be marvelled as Adam could now see. The whole place looked like it was made out of marble that had been chipped form a single large block, and how it could have been built like this was truly a mystery that he had neither the time nor patience to solve.

There was however something that did catch his eye: what appeared to be an acoustic guitar seated on the bench of the organ. Something about it made him utterly fixated, and he soon found himself clutching the instrument in his hands. He certainly wasn't as skilled at it as Eric, but he wasn't too shabby, proven just seconds after touching it. Away he went, playing a song he was fairly sure he had never heard before, and yet he began singing in a deep voice about the home he had left what had seemed like just about a week, but had really been an entire year. All he could do was mourn for it as the sounds of the guitar and his voice echoed through the church.

"_An old man by the seashore at the end of day,_

_Gazes the horizon with sea winds in his face._

_Tempest-tossed island, seasons all the same.  
Anchorage unpainted and a ship without a name."_

Adam paid attention only to the small heartache he felt within himself. If he just somehow knew that Cecil and everyone else on the island, ten he wouldn't be going through this. What he also didn't notice was that someone had followed him and was peeking into the church now, amazed by just how well of a musician Adam was.

"_Sea without a shore for the vanished one unheard  
He lightens the beacon, light at the end of world.  
Showing the way, lighting hope in their hearts,  
The ones and their travels homeward from afar._

_This is the long forgotten light at the end of the world_

_Horizon's crying tears left behind long ago."_

The newcomer's footsteps echoed loudly enough for Adam to hear, and he stopped playing before he looked up in anxiousness at the sound to find that the intruder was just Lilith. She was smiling and had (oddly enough) a violin in her hands, and in one swift motion, she had the instrument under her chin and held the bow ready.

"Maestro, if you please."

Adam grinned and began playing again, this time with Lilith following along with him. As soon as he began singing, she went along with him. Their voices meshed perfectly together, making the majestic song all the more beautiful.

"_The albatross is flying, making him daydream  
The time before he became one of the world`s unseen  
Princess in the tower, children in the fields  
Life gave him it all: an island of the universe._

_Now his love's a memory, a ghost in the fog.  
He sets the sails one last time saying farewell to the world.  
Anchor to the water, seabed far below,  
Grass still in his feet and a smile beneath his brow._

_This is the long forgotten light at the end of the world_

_Horizon crying tears left behind so long ago."_

Adam: _"So long ago."_

Lilith: "_So long ago."_

Off Lilith went on her own slow violin solo, closing her soft eyes and letting the music take her away. Something about her made Adam entranced by the music as well. Perhaps it was because she was too frightened of Morrigan, but she didn't say she was a musician of any sort. Nevertheless, he was glad that she had such a lovely voice. It made him feel welcomed by her presence. He got the same feeling of friendliness from Lilith that he got from Morrigan, which was fitting, but it wasn't quite as intense.

"_This is the long forgotten light at the end of the world_

_Horizon crying tears left behind so long ago._

_So long ago."_

They hit the last note together and set down the instruments before Lilith sat down beside him. She had gotten out of the skimpy outfit she had been wearing before and now had one a loose T-shirt and some pajama pants that she had borrowed from Chun-Li (without letting the latter knowing due to her being asleep).

"You're up a little early, don't you think?" Lilith said.

"I could say the same for you, kid. I'm not even gonna comment on what you just did because you already know how I feel…the internal monologue's a few paragraphs up if you missed it."

"Adam…do you have a family?"

"A family…well, I did. A mother and a father."

"Did they love you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did they swear that they'd always protect you?"

"I know my mother did…and apparently my father died to protect me and her, so I guess that counts for somethin'. Why do you ask?"

"I…don't really know what having a family feels like. The only person who was ever even close to being nice to me was Jedah."

He couldn't really be all that surprised considering Morrigan was the only person Lilith could really call family, but did she like her? Why do you think she burst into fearful tears when Morrigan went all BDSM on her? And Jedah…did Adam even want to know who that was? He'd heard enough crazy names to last a lifetime from Morrigan and Felicia alone.

Lilith scooted over and looked right into Adam's eyes with a pleading gaze.

"Can I call you big brother?"

"Eh? What for?"

"I don't know…I know this is a little sudden to say, but I feel really safe around you…I guess it's because you said you wouldn't let Morrigan eat me…why do you like her so much, anyway."

"She and I grew up together. What other reason could there be?"

"Yeah, but…never mind."

She smiled at him and was on her knees, staring him right in the face with her large eyes.

"The point is you saved me from her. In my eyes, that makes you a hero, and that's why I wanna call you my big brother from now on."

Adam was deeply touched by what she had said. The tone didn't lie. She truly meant every word she had just said…or maybe she was too naïve to lie. Either way, this was working to both of their benefits.

He smiled and draped an arm over her shoulder.

"Of course, Lilith. You can call me whatever you want. I'll gladly look out for you like a real brother should."

Lilith leaned into an embrace.

"Thank you, Adam."

"Don't mention it."

"It truly does warm my heart to see a sight such as this."

The two of them jumped and spun toward the source of the voice. Out stepped Sister Sophia from behind the organ. Adam scoffed for a moment.

"About time you showed up." he said, all the kindness in his voice replaced with the sheer determination to get his answers. "Now riddle me this: how do you know so much about me when I know close to nothing about me?"

Sister Sophia looked away.

"I am afraid I cannot tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because it is for you and you alone to discover."

"That's horseshit! How can you honestly think that this is just a task for me to overcome?!"

The priestess shot him a look…or he THOUGHT she did. There was certainly no way to tell since he couldn't see any bit of her face aside from her mouth.

"You must understand this, dear one." she said very sternly. "The more time you spend with something, the more you will grow to love it, and the more you grow to love it, the more absurd the disagreements seem."

"Are you gonna tell me straight out what's happened to me or are you just going to be cryptic for the whole time?! Who the hell do you think you are?"

Sister Sophia stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Adam's shoulder.

"I speak to you as anyone else would, but behind this hood is the face of a friend. Do not question it."

"…I don't understand."

"You will, my child. You will."

With that, she walked away. Adam made no effort to stop her. He just stood there, even more puzzled than he had been before if that was even possible. Not only was there still the question of how she knew so much about him, but also what she was talking about. Just as well since that was what Lilith asked him at that moment, to which he remained silent, still thinking hard about it.

After he had decided there was no sense in it, he motioned for the two of them to leave.

"This better be worth it if she won't tell me straight up!"

**Back to the hotel…**

"Hm." Morrigan grunted, looking at the spots on her neck in the mirror. "That's odd. Didn't feel a thing last night."

Once she heard the door open, she was quick to walk to it and confront Adam, though calmly and admittedly confused.

"Adam, were you up at all last night?"  
"Aside from getting my ass handed to me by Lilith?"

Morrigan revealed the wound on her neck, forcing Adam to reel back in shock.

"What in Heaven's name…who did that to you?!" he snarled.

"To be honest…I think you did."

"Wh-what?! Why would I do something like that?!"

"You tell me."

Chun-Li took a closer look at the wound as she walked into the room with some peroxide.

"Well, that's definitely a bite wound." she concluded after carefully applying some of liquid onto Morrigan's neck and keeping a stern eye on Adam. "You don't recall biting her or anything?"

"If I did anything of the sort to my best friend, don't you think I would remember it?!"

"Easy there, pal. I'm just asking."

"Don't ask, don't tell. What do I look like to you? A vampire?"

"Actually, you do kind of. You've got really pale skin and…"

"Oh, just forget it!"

Adam slumped down on the couch as everyone else started to come into the room.

"So, boss," Raptor said. "Ya know where we're goin' next?"

"I don't know…I got a message saying that the next one is just south of Tokyo and that someone is going to use it to their advantage by nightfall."

"Wait…did you just say south of Tokyo?" Chun-Li asked.

She dug out what appeared to be a phone of sorts and checked it quickly.

"I've got a report of that gang I'm trying to bust just south of Tokyo…you don't think they're the ones that nun told you about, do you?"

"I don't know. Are they? Are you willing to trust me at all?!" Adam growled.

"Easy, you two." Ryu said. "We're not even gonna have a simple time getting there. If we need to get there by nightfall, then walking is out of the question. The only real option is to take the first available train to Tokyo, but tickets are pretty costly…of course, if Raptor would be willing to spare us some dough…"

"Pff! I'm dead, mate!" Raptor shrugged. "'The hell would I need cash for?"

Everyone looked at each other for a brief moment before Adam sighed.

"Pit?" he asked.

"Pit." they all replied.

**To the Pit…**

It wasn't too surprising that the rules had been changed yet again. Before Adam had come to town, it had been a tag team of two fighters that would have to enter. Now it was back to mano-a-mano matches. One person against one other person. What did surprise Adam was that Lilith wanted to be the one to fight. It had taken her a lot of nagging and pleading, but she finally got the spot, though with Adam worrying that she was going to get annihilated and cost him a chance at getting another piece of his memory back.

Surprisingly and thankfully, he was dead wrong. Lilith was at least ten times stronger than he imagined. She had plowed through every single one of her opponents and had them pinned and begging for mercy in just a few minutes each. She granted it after they grovelled long enough, but otherwise she'd knock them out with a good uppercut.

It was now the final match and it looked like the party was going to have the grand prize yet again. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting who Lilith would have to fight last.

Then the gate on the other side of the arena opened, and in stepped (of all things) a young boy. Everyone stopped the noise for a brief moment out of sheer confusion. The boy looked completely normal save for the strange octagonal panel on his chest. He wore normal clothes, had normal looking brown hair, and had a normal excited grin on his face.  
"Hey, there!" he called to Lilith. "So you're the last one, huh?"

Lilith didn't pay any attention to how silent the crowd had gone. She was just slightly relieved that the person she was fighting wasn't some smelly seven-foot tall muscle man.

"Yep!" she called back to him. "I'm gonna have a lot of fun beating the crap outta you."

The boy smirked and crossed his arms.

"You seem a little too young to be doing somethin' like this. That chick with the whip was scarier than you, and she was ridiculous."

Lilith's wings appeared and shifted into large scythe-like blades.

"Do I scare you now?"

"A little bit."

"Ready….FIGHT!" called the announcer.

Lilith lunged at the boy right away with her blades rapidly swinging. The boy jumped away and just when Lilith was going to slash at him again, he did something that stunned everyone looking down at them.

"Hostility rating: 8/10. Confirmed as Dangerous."

He flipped backward and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Engaging Combat Mode!"

A brilliant light emerged from the panel on his chest and wrapped itself around his limbs. No one could see what was going on underneath all that light, but once it faded, they sat dumbstruck.

The boy was now covered in head to toe with blue streamlined armour that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. On one of his shoulders was a stamp reading "XLR 8". He smirked and a visor dropped down over his face, ready to shield it from any sort of projectile.

"Target confirmed and locked. Let's do this!"

"Unbelievable…I always heard about these things, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd see one in person." Ryu said under his breath.

"What do you mean?" Eric asked.

"I mean that kid is a Mega Man unit!"

Lilith continued to attack, swiping another blade at XLR 8's head. He quickly ducked under it, suddenly shifting his arm into a cannon and pressing it right against Lilith's chest.

"Heads up. This is gonna hurt."

It did. Enough to make her cry out in pain for a brief moment as a sphere of what she thought was electricity fired out of the cannon, ramming into her and launching her back a few feet. She got up with a satisfied smile.

"So you're cute AND you can pack a good punch. I'm gonna enjoy this! SOUL FLARE!"

Out came the surge of energy, pummeling straight into XLR 8 who merely flipped in mid-air and landed with his feet firmly on the ground. Right as he lunged at Lilith and swung with a heavy roundhouse kick, she parried it and flapped her wings to pull herself up into the air. Adam smirked from the bleachers when she did this, thinking it was going to be just like it had been last night with her flying around and slamming the poor kid with attacks and him not being able to reach her. In fact, she was so sure about this that she taunted XLR 8 with "Let's see you top this!"

What got everyone was that he did. He jumped up into the air and flames began spurting from his feet.

"Of course." Ryu grumbled. "His creator fitted him with rocket thrusters. No Mega Man unit nowadays would be useful without those."

XLR 8 himself took one look at Lilith's shocked expression and laughed.

"What? Are we fighting or are we just gazing in awe at what the other person can do?"

Lilith shook herself out of the hypnotized state and dove at him.

"SHADOW BLADE!"

Her wing morphed and she stabbed at XLR 8, realizing too late that a laser sword had sprouted from his wrist.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you to look before you leap?" he mocked as he parried her attack.

"I don't have a mom, you prick!"

"Oh…sorry."

"SOUL FLARE!"

"Hey, I said sorry! Jeez!"

The two clashed in mid-air, trading blow for blow and not seeming to wear each other out. Lilith from being slightly angry at what he had just said to her (and possibly having a screw loose in her head), and XLR 8…she sure as hell didn't know. Maybe he was just trained to block out the pain.

But you know why, don't you? Why do you think Ryu brought up that he was a Mega Man unit?

The moment Lilith attempted to get sneaky again, XLR 8 retaliated with a roundhouse kick to her face and a punch to her back, hurtling her back towards the ground. Needless to say, she was stunned at just how strong and skilled this boy was.

Lilith faked XLR 8 out by getting him to punch at her head. She shifted it to the side and made a bite at his neck covered in leather. XLR 8 didn't fall for it, and as soon as she moved, he pulled his head back and slammed it into her forehead.

"Ow…you jerk…"

"Yeah, that line about nobody wins with a headbutt? Wrong. The guy with the helmet wins with a headbutt."

"You what else people don't win with?! Your friggin' mother!"

"Riiiiiiiight…"

Lilith dove at him again, ducking under the bolt of electricity he fired at her and swiping her wing blades at his feet. Sadly for XLR 8, the moment the blades made contact, his rocket thrusters fizzled out.

"Ah, crap!" he shouted before plummeting to the ground.

As soon as he hit the ground, Lilith landed on him, pressing all of her weight down. He sputtered as he felt his chest get crunched underneath her feet.

"Well, I guess I had this coming."

Lilith giggled before planting her knees on his chest and gently leaning down.

"Of course you did. And now it's time for you to pay up."

Morrigan immediately saw what Lilith was trying to do from the bleachers, and once she realized it, she flew into a panic.

"Lilith, no!"

Too late. The little succubus pressed her lips against XLR 8's mouth. Morrigan covered her eyes, not daring to see what would happen next.

That was the trick, though: nothing happened, and when Lilith opened her eyes and saw that, she raised her brow in confusion. XLR 8 was even more confused, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Uhh….thanks? I'm pretty sure you were angry at me just a second ago, but…thanks?"

"Oh…do you feel woozy at all? Like you're gonna faint?"

"Noooo…I feel mildly unnerved. Does that count IN YOUR FACE!"

Lilith couldn't really believe that he had used her confusion to his advantage and blasted her in the face, even while she was lying on her back with her nerves tingling from the electrical current. Meanwhile, XLR 8 was laughing his head off.

"Oh, man, I knew this would be fun! The doc told me it wouldn't be any fun at all, so he said 'It's not fun at all', and y'know…for a minute I believed him. I was a bit of a fool to myself, but look at this! I just shot a demon in the face! IN THE FACE, MAN!"

"I'm gonna rip your heart out and eat it, you cheating son of a bitch!"

"Uhh…false. I'm gonna go false."

Lilith growled loudly through clenched teeth and let out a loud battle cry before diving at him again.

"DARKNESS ILLUSION!"

XLR 8 was used to seeing crazy things, so four clones of Lilith didn't intimidate him at all. Figuring out which one was real, though…there was the trouble.

"Not for me, narrator. MEGA BLAST TWISTER!"

Both of his arms and the panel on his chest shifted into cannons, and as soon as Lilith saw the building energy in the barrels, she knew, as Martin Lawrence would say, shit just got real.

"Holy crap!" the five Liliths yelled.

The massive beams that came surging out of XLR 8's body proved that the crap was indeed holy. There was so much energy firing out of him that it sent up a violent wind and everyone in the bleachers could feel intense heat radiating off of it, not to mention the huge blast of light. Everyone was thinking the same thing: "It would be a miracle of the kid survived that."

And for a moment, it looked like she hadn't. When the beams finally faded and XLR 8 nearly collapsed from expelling so much energy at once, there wasn't a sign of Lilith or any of her clones. For a moment, he was worried he had vaporized her by accident.

"Damn, Doc Light's gonna be mad…wait a tick…"

The loud battle cry behind him and the sharp pain that occurred once Lilith's wing hammer hit and forced him to the ground didn't lie. He'd underestimated her. Drastically. It got even worse when his visor's display kept fidgeting all over the place and was able to get a lock on Lilith.

"Great. Just great. You screwed up my targeting system."

"That's the whole idea, you schmuck. Now I'm gonna bash your brains in!"

"JAY-ZUS!"

Sure enough, Lilith pinned him to the ground with her knees and started rapidly slamming the hammer down at him, trying her hardest to smash him right in the head. What she didn't count on was his agility. He kept shifting around the hammer and just trying to get himself up to try and win this thing, but Lilith yelling like a mental patient and trying to murder him was a tad distracting.

Finally, he got it: she wasn't mad at him for teasing her before. She just wanted to win the tournament.

"Ah, what the hell. I only entered for fun, anyway." he thought.

As soon as Lilith brought the hammer back down, XLR 8 blocked it with his arms.

"Okay! I give up! You win!" he panted.

Thankfully just like he thought, Lilith stopped trying to pound him and shifted her hammer back into a wing. She was just as exhausted as he was, but once he saw her calm down, he lowered his arms.

"You…you mean it?" she asked.  
"Yeah…I'm done. You wore me out like a pair of skinny jeans."

"I won? …I really won!"

She flung her arms around him and pulled him in an affectionate embrace. He didn't know much about female mood swings, so he just assumed this girl was crazy and returned the embrace, albeit slowly and somewhat reluctantly. She pulled back slightly to look at him, but kept her arms around him and her smile on.

"I'm Lilith. What's your name?"

"Mega Man. Model XLR, version 8…though Doc Light likes to call me Axel for short."

The two made eye contact, and although Lilith attempted to bring him under her spell again, it still failed to work.

So clearly someone has no idea what a Mega Man is.

**Later…**

"What? You wanna come with us?" Lilith asked.

"Sure! I'm just one of those guys that looks around for action, y'know…that's just the author's way of using dialogue to avoid stating the obvious fact that I'm a fan service character."

In that case I make sure to develop you a little bit. Thanks for the heads-up.  
"No problem…wait, what?!"

"Don't bother." Adam said. "I don't know who that guy is or what he's doing, but he's the boss of this joint, so whatever he says goes.

Thank you, Adam.

It was after the tournament, and Axel had followed Lilith out with the group, trying to persuade them to take him along with them. Lilith herself was more interested in how he could do those things, but she'll get her answer next chapter. We gotta speed things along a little bit.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt. The more, the merrier as they all say." Morrigan said.

"Awesome!" Axel whooped. "I promise I'll be as useful as I can be!"

_**(MEGA MAN XLR 8, ALSO KNOWN AS AXEL, HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

_Hmm...so that the seventh new party member in like four chapters. I don't know if that's for fan service or not, but it looks like it's working so far...and yes, I did just have Mega Man quote Wheatley from Portal. And for all you fans of Street Fighter wondering why the hell I made this a crossover story and the only Street Fighter characters so far are Ryu and Chun-Li...don't worry. A certain Korean friend of ours with a glowing eye (hint, hint) will be coming next chapter. I'll see you guys (and girls) then._


	12. More than Just Thugs

Chapter Twelve

**More than Just Thugs**

"So who exactly is this criminal syndicate that you've been tracking?" Adam asked.

"They're called S.I.N. They've been giving Interpol some trouble for a while now." Chun-Li answered. "But what really set off the whole worry about them was that they joined forces with some street gang named Mad Gear. In fact, I actually received orders to check on it from Senator Mike Haggar at United Nations. I know he would've come along with me, but he's too busy."

"Good thing I've got your back, then, huh?" Ryu replied with a smirk.

Chun-Li rolled her eyes in return.

"Of course. What would I do without you, Ryu? …Literally. That Juri girl is probably the scariest person I've ever met and she would've torn my throat out if it hadn't have been for you."

"Okay, you guys have both mentioned that woman and I haven't the slightest idea who that is. Care to help me out?"

"Well, Adam, Juri Han is a South Korean assassin and is one of S.I.N.'s top grunts. She used to work for a man named Seth who was recently murdered by some unknown force. S.I.N. is essentially just one of those groups hellbent on world domination but aren't really getting too much support. We already took care of Bison and Shadoloo, so I guess they needed some other group to take up the mantle."

"And am I correct to assume that Juri is…"

"Batshit insane."

"Got it."

In another booth on the train, Axel (who was now back to his street punk clothes) was sitting alongside Lilith, Felicia, and Eric.

"So you're a robot?" Felicia asked.

"The politically correct term in my case is cyborg, but yes. I'm more or less a robot. I used to be a human, but then I more or less got in a near-fatal accident. My dad was a close associate of Doc Light, and before you know it, I was a new man…er, boy, excuse me."

"Wow." Lilith replied, poking at the panel of his chest. "So that's why my kiss didn't do anything to you…"

"Oh, that WAS supposed to do something to me?"

"Yeah. It was supposed to kill you."

"…what?"

"It's the Aensland family Kiss of Death. Morrigan can do it, too."

"THAT'S why she wouldn't let Adam kiss her when they were kids?" Eric asked.

This revelation only made Eric more angry at Morrigan for what had happened. They had certainly been through a lot over the past few days, but there was no way he'd be able to forgive her yet. Now that he knew Morrigan could kill Adam just by kissing him, he had to keep a much closer eye on her.

And speaking of Morrigan, she sat in another booth with Jon and Raptor, discussing something extremely serious.

"I see…" Jon said.

"So can I count on you two to keep an eye on him?" Morrigan asked.

"Absolutely. He saved from my dark self, so I shall do whatever I can to repay him."

"He seems like a good kid." Raptor added. "There's no way I'm gonna let a mate like that just go to waste."

"Thank you, guys…I'm just so worried about him." Morrigan sighed.

"You should not be." Jon replied. "Adam is a strong young man, so I doubt he will even need my protection."

"But you'll still give it, right?"

"Of course…and I must agree that something does seem off about him as of late."

"What do you mean?"  
"The two bites that he has given."

"You don't know that was him!"

"No, but there is always the remote possibility. If it was him, bringing it up may just make him more alienated, even with more than half of his comrades being creatures of the night."

He had a point. Adam had become very upset when Chun-Li had semi-accused him of injuring Morrigan, so what if they had actual proof that it was him? Would it devastate him even more?

"Holy moly…THAT'S Tokyo?!" Adam said in amazement.

"Yep. She's a real beauty, ain't she?" Ryu chuckled.

"Damn right…too bad we have to look in the ghetto for the next Darkstalker."

"Alright. The train should be stopping in just a few minutes, and we've got just a few hours before sundown. If we're gonna find this guy, we've gotta do it fast.

**An hour later (for musical ambience: "Playing with Danger" from Team Fortress 2)...**

"Okay. We're here." Chun-Li announced, lowering her tracker and pointing at the facility down below.

After following her long enough, they had been led just outside the city to a small valley where a large and sinister looking building lay with several street lights turned on. There were several shading-looking people parading around outside, and all thought none of them appeared to be armed, that didn't mean they weren't deadly with martial arts.

"There's no way we're gonna be able to get in with all those guards walking around down there." Ryu said. "If even a single one of us gets spotted, they'll send up an alarm."  
"Well, looks like there's only one option." Adam said. "Who's willing to go in and create a distraction?"

Morrigan smirked evilly and winked at Adam.

"Allow me. Felicia?"

Felicia smirked as well.

"Way ahead of ya."

They walked down together to the facility, hiding their wings and tail respectively before gently striding into view and cooing at the guards (who were thankfully all male). Just like the apes they were, the guards lustfully crowded around the two women.

"Those ladies and those awesome tits." Axel chuckled.

Lilith growled to herself angrily.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked her.

"That's why people like Morrigan more than me! Her tits are so big they could punch a hole through a wall!"

"Jealous?"

"Not…really…"

"Hey, chin up, kid. You've got one thing Morrigan doesn't have."

Lilith looked up at Axel in surprise.

"Really?! What?"

Axel smirked and ruffled her hair with one hand.

"Morrigan goes straight for sex appeal. You're plain adorable!"

Lilith went bright red and pressed her hands to her cheeks.

"Quit it!" she chirped. "You're making me blush!"

Eric chuckled and nudged Axel's arm.

"Looks like she likes ya!"

"Good…after she tried to decapitate me, that's the first thing I need."

"Looks like we're good to go." Adam said, grabbing the hilt of Enotita. "Let's move in."

They snuck down the hill as quickly and quietly as they could, and it looked like they would be able to make it into the open hangar-like area until…

…the moon rose and shone down on Eric.

"Oh, perfect!" he growled before falling to his knees and convulsing in agony a few times before shifiting into his werewolf form.

"What the f*ck?" one of the guards said, looking over and spotting the party.

"Great." Raptor moaned. "You just had to shift forms now, mate."

"Hey, who's fault do you think that is?" Eric shot back.

"Well, I apologized, did I not?" Jon sighed before willingly shifting into his own wolf form.

"Doesn't matter!" Ryu yelled. "Adam, Chun, Axel and Lilith get inside! We'll handle this!"

Jon, Ryu, Raptor and Eric ran forward to help Felicia and Morrigan fend off the oncoming guards while the other four ran inside to try and find this next Darkstalker.

"Damn…I hope they're gonna be okay." Axel said.

"They've done this before." Adam replied. "They'll be fine."

"Shit! More guards!"

The four hid in a nearby cranny and remained absolutely silent as two guards came by, talking amongst themselves.

Adam and Axel weren't exactly comfortable with this situation since Chun-Li and Lilith were squashed up against them.

"Watch your hands, Adam!" Chun-Li seethed.

"That's not me!"

"Oh, God, don't let them find don't let them find us don't let them find us…" Lilith whimpered.

"Gmmt ym bmmm omtta mm fmmm!" Axel mumbled.

"What?"

"I said get your butt outta my face!"

"What do you think these people wants with that fish guy, anyway?" one of the guards asked.

"Man, I don't know. As long as we're gettin' paid a pretty penny, I could care less what S.I.N. does with him."

"Yeah…but I dunno. It really seems that somethin's wrong with him…and not just 'cause he's a merman."

"A merman?" the four party members thought simultaneously and all in confusion.

"What are you bums standing around for?" yelled a sultry female voice. "Get back to patrolling the joint before a tan your hides, savvy?"

"Y-yeah, boss." one of the guards stammered. "You got it."

The two of them ran off down the hall, and the woman came into sight a good distance away from where the four were hiding. She was wearing a shirt and pair of shorts that clearly didn't fit judging from how much skin was exposed, and her long pink hair had a police officer's hat mounted on top. Around her neck was a spiked collar, and in her hand was what looked like a whip.

"Hey, it's that Poison chick from yesterday!" Adam whispered. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"Why else?" Chun-Li replied. "She's one of the top cronies of Mad Gear…but who could she possibly be working under?"

Poison smiled and sighed.

"You can come out now, kids." she said before looking right at them.

"Dammit…" Adam sighed before the four of them popped out and sprawled onto the ground.

They all sank into fighting poses as soon as they hopped to their feet with Adam grabbing the hilt his sword, Chun-Li rising into a crane stance, Lilith shifting her wings into blades, and Axel switching to combat mode and aiming his arm cannon. Poison simply chuckled at them.

"Hey, boys!" she called. "We got ourselves some bogies."

"What a bitch…" Axel groaned as about ten other guards circled around them.

"But before we beat the piss outta ya, talk." Poison demanded. "What're a couple of good-two-shoes like you doing here? Shouldn't kids be in bed this late at night?"

"I'll have you know I'm legal!" Adam shot back.

"Actually, in Japan the legal drinking age is 20." Chun-Li said.

Ain't that a bitch?

"Lemme guess: you want the merman, right?" Poison asked.

"Yeah, sure." Adam replied.

"Too bad you ain't gettin' him. Alrighty, boys. Let the show begin!"

The guards jumped at the four of them, and off they went on a battle royale.

Adam had no intention of murdering anyone here, so he resorted to his magical attacks and kickboxing skills. A Rapid Spirit Fire here, an uppercut there, a roundhouse kick here, or even a new move to finish off one guard.

"GHOST FURY!"

The guard in question was volleyed into the air with an energized uppercut before Adam jumped up into the air after him, slamming his feet onto the man's back and sending him crashing back into the ground.

"SPINNING BIRD KICK!" Chun-Li yelled, reeling up like a top using her hands and launching at the closest goon with her legs spinning.

Lilith used one goon as a human arrow and launched him at another one, then quickly shifted her wing into a hammer and flattened another against the ground. Just as another goon came up to seize her, Axel blasted him in the chest before bounding forward and delivering a sharp kick to his chin.

"Lotta good that did him sneaking up on a lady." Axel grunted.

"Aww, are you my bodyguard all of a sudden?" Lilith chuckled. "I'm so flattered."

"Keep the lip to yourself and keep kicking ass!"

"I was being serious, though."

"…oh…okay, but still. Keep kicking ass!"

Poison scoffed.

"Goddamn, you punks are worthless." she groaned before salaciously stepping towards Adam.

Adam himself got a good kick to one guard's stomach before Poison grabbed him and pulled him into what seemed almost like an embrace. One arm was around Adam's torso, her other hand was on his cheek, and one leg was raised and gently rubbing against the side of his own. Not to mention she had her ample frame pressed against him in an seductive way.

"You may be a kid, but I gotta say: you're pretty cute."

"Thank you…can't say the same for you."

"Aww. Why not?"

"I'm not sure…I guess I don't like fast women."

"In that case, we could always take it nice and slow. I like men that just take it easy."

The hand on his cheek came around to the back of his head, and it appeared she was going to bring him in for a kiss. Whether or not she actually was? That was something he never found out because of what he did next.

"Back up, Jack!" he growled before slamming his forehead against hers.

Poison stumbled backwards and laughed.

"Ooo, so you like it rough? Happy to oblige!"

She cracked her whip at him. He stepped out of the way and flew at her with a front kick. She parried it before making a punch at his head. As he dodged it, her hand came back and scraped him across the mouth, but as it did, one of his canine teeth made contact with her knuckle and somehow scratched it open.

Poison yelped in pain, but kept attacking, trading blow for blow with Adam until she finally punched him in the stomach, forcing him to bend over her knee.

"Children need to learn how to respect their elders." she giggled before firmly placing one hand on Adam's back and raising the other, getting ready to bring it down hard on his rear end.

Then he glared at her. His eyes had gone bloodshot again, just like they had with Lilith the previous night. And just like they had with Lilith, the sudden change frightened Poison into releasing him. As soon as Adam was on his feet, he rushed forward, clamped his hand down on Poison's neck, and slammed her into the ground. She could so nothing but look fearfully into his eyes as he leaned closer, almost thinking that he could burn her from the inside out if he stared at her long enough For a moment, she thought he was going to strangle her, but he simply spoke.

"Don't do that." he said menacingly before releasing her.

In response, she simply stayed on the ground. As more goons started to come around the corner, the four party members realized they were running out of options…well, all but Axel.

"Chun! Adam!" he yelled. "Go on ahead and find that Darkstalker. Lily and I will take care of this!"  
"What?!" Chun-Li sputtered. "Are you crazy?!"

Axel turned his head to her with a cocky smirk.

"Trust me."

Chun-Li and Adam were very antsy about just leaving these two to fight for themselves, but they needed to find the Darkstalker before they decided to use him to conquer the world…or whatever it was they were doing with him.

"Dammit…okay, but if anything happens, you run!" Adam replied. "You don't try anything stupid! You run! Got me?"  
"Whatever you say, big brother!" Lilith chirped.

Adam nodded as he and Chun-Li ran further into the facility, leaving Axel and Lilith to stand side-by-side and prepare of the onslaught.

"This is gonna be fun." they both thought.

But Axel was dropped back into reality with this question: "Big brother?!"

**Deeper into the facility…**

Chun-Li and Adam finally stopped running after rounding what seemed like ten corners and slumped up against a wall to catch their breath.

"Oh, God…I must have lost five pounds just now." Chun-Li wheezed.

"You're tellin' me…let's just hope to Christ those two are gonna be okay."

Adam stood up and took in a deep breath before releasing it.

"Alright. Let's go."

He was about to walk forward when Chun-Li stopped him.

"Adam, I wanna talk to you for a sec."

"Alright, then. Shoot."

"…do you think this Darkstalker I going to act as crazy as Jon did that one night?"

"Beats me. If we're lucky, he won't be."

"I'm not worried that he might be tough to fight. I'm thinking that your memories are what's causing them to act that way."

"So what, you're saying that my memories are cursed?"

"No…but I do think that there's more of a reason for them acting that way than just instincts."

"Then how come Morrigan, Lilith and Raptor didn't act any different?"

"With Lilith and Raptor, it's probably because they were crazy enough already, but Morrigan…yeah, you got me there."

They continued to walk, contemplating what the other had said until they arrived at what appeared to be some sort of laboratory. In one of the tanks was a humanoid creature with green scaly skin, a long fish-like tail, and fins stretching across his arms, legs, and back. Most noticeable was a mask covering his mouth, blowing some gas into his mouth that forced him to sleep peacefully.

"Yep." Adam said. "That's definitely a merman."

"No sense standing around, then." Chun-Li said, stepping forward. "Let's get over there and…"

Adam stuck out his arm and blocked her.

"Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Listen."

"To what? I don't hear a thing!"

"…that's what I mean. It's too quiet…besides, it's too simple. Just walking in the dark quiet room and getting the guy out."

Adam listened and looked closely for any sort of movement, as did Chun-Li. There was literally nothing to break the silence, and that only made the tense moment all the more disturbing. Something was watching them…something hanging onto the wall…something that was ready to pounce on them.

"Thanks for the tip, narrator-guy" Adam said before yelling to Chun-Li. "HIT THE DECK!"

Good timing, because it was then that the woman that had been stalking them for the past few minutes pounced down at them with the full intention of shredding them to pieces with her bare hands. The two of them dove to the floor just in time as she zipped over them and landed crouched in a fighting stance in front of them.

"Well, well." she hissed. "Look what the cat dragged in."

The joke's on you. Felicia's not here.

Adam and Chun-Li slowly got their feet, with Adam keeping his eyes focused on the woman standing in front of them.  
"You must be Juri Han, then."

The woman in question was Korean. Her black hair was messily hanging down to her shoulders like she had suddenly stopped caring about it. The violet chest plate she wore was violently torn in some areas, and her white pants had been reduced to shorts. Not to mention there were scars all over her body.

"Aww, Chun-Li!" she cooed in a menacing tone. "You came to play with me again!"

Chun-Li nervously bit her lip and raised her fists, while Adam readied his own, placing a hand on his sword's hilt if it would be necessary. Juri simply smirked.

"So you want Rikuo here, eh?" she asked.

"Rikuo…an interesting name. And yes. We're here to free him."

"Good luck. If he sees you, he'll rip you to shreds…in fact…"

Juri slammed down on a nearby button. To Chun-Li and Adam's dread, the tank the merman was in opened and the mask peeled itself off his face. As soon as he opened his eyes, Rikuo launched himself out of the tank and onto the floor, and the moment he spotted the two intruders, he snarled at them.

"Oops." Juri giggled. "Butterfingers."

"You sadistic piece of shit…" Adam growled, unsheathing his blade.

Juri smiled, licked her foul lips, and her left eye glowed brilliantly.

"Let's dance." she said in a whisper-like tone before lunging at Chun-Li.

"You take her! I'll take the merman!" Adam yelled before bounding at the fast approaching Rikuo.

"Take her?! But…oh, crap…" Chun-Li said in a worried tone.

Like she had said on the train, the last time she and Juri had fought had been a real doozy with her nearly ripping her throat out…with her teeth. Juri was by far the most sadistic woman either Chun-Li or Ryu had ever met, and to see her again (especially in this fashion) was almost like a nightmare.

A nightmare on a damn roller coaster!

"KIKOKEN!" Chun-Li yelled in fright after yelping once she realized Juri was less than two feet away from her.

Rikuo swung his tail at the approaching Adam, who was swift to flip over it and kick the merman square in the jaw. The latter simply responded by grabbing Adam's ankle and slamming him into the ground, pressing him flat down with his surprisingly powerful tail.

"Tough guy, huh?" Adam said with a snicker under his breath. "Too bad you can't talk. Otherwise this would be really fun."

He clamped his feet on Rikuo's tail and flipped back to his feet using his hands, slamming the merman into the ground while he was at it. In a split second, he grabbed his sword and made an effort to slam his sword down on him, but Rikuo was too fast and too clever for that. He rolled backward and clawed Adam across the chest, who was forced to just follow Ryu's teachings and block out the pain as he charged forward to ram his shoulder into his opponent.

As if having her comrade nearly get spanked by Poison wasn't enough, Chun-Li was having a bit of a raunchy moment herself when Juri jumped on top of her in a near hug-like embrace, running her hands down her opponent's front and back, feeling her quickly rising pulse.

"You're still as soft as ever, Chun." she giggled, her eye oddly flashing. "You know, I never got that kiss I asked for."

"Get off of me, you creep!"

"Hm? A creep, am I? Aw, don't say things like that, sweetie. Bad things are bound to happen to girls who talk rudely to their superiors."

That's when Chun-Li realized what Juri was doing when she steadily found it very hard to breathe.

"She's…c-crushing me!"

Indeed she was. And in the most sadistic way possible. Juri nibbled at Chun-Li's neck as the latter started gasping for breath.

"Tastes good. Let's go a little deeper."

"Not on my watch, bitch!" Adam yelled, splitting the grasp Juri had on her victim by shoving his sword between the two. "GHOST FURY!"

After volleying Juri high into the air, Adam had expected to ram her back into the ground, but she was too quick for him. She grabbed him in mid-air and tossed him away. They both landed perfectly with their feet on the ground.

"C'mon, kiddo. Mommy wants some alone time with her special someone." she mocked.

"I'll see that you get that alone time in hell."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"  
"What?"

"A certain someone still wants to play with you."

Right at that moment, Rikuo jumped onto Adam's back and started weighing him down while he had his legs jammed into his back. Adam knew exactly what Rikuo was trying to do as he felt a near splintering feeling in his spine slowly start to get worse.

"Want me down there? Fine!"

He went along with it: he jumped off his feet and fell down back first, slamming Rikuo into the ground again. The merman kicked Adam off of him, then rushed at him with a nasty claw attack which just barely missed and was countered with a roundhouse kick to the side of his face, followed up by a quick uppercut. Chun-Li meanwhile was still quivering and trying to shake off the scent Juri had left on her.

She wasn't scared anymore. Now she was plain angry, proven once she twisted her expression into a unimpressed frown.

"Okay, Chun. Keep it together." she said to herself. "Remember what Dad taught you."

"FUHAJIN!" Juri hollered.

"I don't think so! SPINNING BIRD KICK!"

Fist and leg collided, and the two struggled to gain the upper hand (or foot in Chun-Li's case). Even though the two seemed to be evenly matched, Juri still kept that typical shit-eating grin on her face, like she knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Go on. Give it your best shot." she said. "Let me humour you a little."

"Oh, I'm funny to you? Funny how?! Am I wearing big shoes and a funny hat?!"

"Ooo, roleplaying! I oughta go get that little flower for your lapel."

"SHUT UP! KIKOKEN!"

Chun-Li shot one hand up and fired as hard as she could at Juri's face. She simply flipped away and flew at her again with a breakneck speed front kick. Chun-Li just barely managed to bring her hands up into time to clasp Juri's ankle and hold it back, but the Korean woman's foot was still close enough to the Chinese woman's face for her to gently brush her toes up against it.

"Tickle, tickle." Juri cooed.

Chun-Li grimaced and threw the leg back down to the ground, and as soon as Juri jumped up…

"KIKOUSHOU!"

Chun-Li slammed her clenched fists together, and form them erupted an enormous sphere of energy shielding her from any oncoming hits. It wasn't until it cleared that she saw Juri had been far out of reach.

"Oooo….missed it by THAT much. Oh, well. I guess shit happens sometimes, right? FUHAJIN!"

Chun-Li could feel blood come spurting out of her nose the moment Juri made contact, and it only got worse as she steadily came closer like a mark of death on our downed friend.

"Now will you stop resisting and just let me have some fun with you?"

"What…beating me to a blood pulp isn't fun to you?"

"It's popcorn entertainment. A little intimacy…that's the feature presentation."

"Damn damn damn damn!" Adam growled as he continued blocking Rikuo's attacks and getting severely distracted by Juri slowly laying down on top of Chun-Li, pinning her arms to the ground and starting to nibble on her again. "Can't just let her get hurt like that…but I need to get my memory back…"

Adam gritted his teeth and shoved Rikuo away, then kicked him so hard that he launched the merman right through another one of the glass containers.

"That oughta hold you for a while."

In one swift second, Adam grabbed Juri's throat and threw her off of Chun-Li with one arm before hauling the latter to her feet and then onto his back.

"God, I thought for sure she was gonna get me this time…thanks, Adam."

"Don't worry about that. You can't keep fighting like this. You're just gonna get beaten around the bush like rag doll."

"But we need to…"

"Forget about it! If you're gonna get hurt like this, it's not worth it!"

"Oh, what's wrong? Leaving so soon?" Juri smirked as she got back up. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"What, you think we're gonna tell everyone that there's a gang of thugs holding a savage merman hostage?"

"No. I just really wanna see your blood spill all over the place."

Adam had no means to defend himself as Juri zipped at them, but suddenly…

"TATSUMAKI SENPUU KICK!"

In came Raptor and Ryu, the latter of which smashed his foot right into Juri's stomach and forced her to backflip to keep from getting knocked on the ground.

"My, my! Ryu Hoshi! How nice to see you!"

"Likewise. Adam!" Ryu shouted. "You take care of that merman! I'll handle this psycho!"

"What about Chun-Li?!"  
"Raptor can get her good to go again. You just worry about getting your memory back!"

Raptor took Chun-Li from Adam and winked at him.

"Trust me, boss: I've got this." he said.

Adam sighed with a quick smile before picking his dropped blade up from the ground as Rikuo recovered from being tossed through glass.

"Right then!" he said with a strong hint of confidence in his voice. "Let's do this!"

Adam sheathed his blade, knowing that killing this merman wasn't going to help anyone, let alone him. As soon as Rikuo made a move, Adam flew at him in a flurry of fists, hitting him in every possible way from uppercutting his chin, decking him across the cheek, jabbing him in the face, hooking him in the stomach. He even pulled off a few martial arts moves and made up his own move which he affectionately dubbed a cage punch. Simply put, he punched inward and hit both sides of Rikuo's skull at the same time with either fist.

And yes, he did perform the Johnny Cage nutpunch, spreading his legs apart to sink down and cheapshot Rikuo in the pelvis.

Across the room, Ryu was having a much easier time with Juri than Chun-Li had. That was most likely due to Ryu specializing with his fists instead of his feet, and though he wasn't as fast as Chun-Li, he certainly packed a harder punch. In no time flat, he had Juri out of breath and panting like a dog.

"What's wrong? You givin' up already? I guess Seth didn't condition you well enough." he smirked.

Juri let out a loud yell of anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

"Yeah…that's kind of what you were trying to do before. Did you forget?"

Juri let out another yell and dove at Ryu, who simply stuck out his foot and let Juri run into it.

"Whoops! Severely injured someone with a simple motion again! Silly me!"

Juri looked up in anger and licked her lips as her eye began to glow again. In one swift motion, she slammed her fists into the ground, sending up a tornado of violet energy that launched Ryu into the air. A hint of her satisfaction returned, Juri shot her leg up behind her, catching Ryu's back on her foot and leaning his head closer. A severe look of pain had overtaken him.

"Felt good, didn't it?" Juri cooed, gently stroking Ryu's cheek.

To her surprise, his eyes shot open suddenly and he got his cocky grin back.

"You kiddin'? I EAT pain!"

He backflipped off of her foot, taken care to jam his heel into the back of her knee as he did. Juri clutched at her wounded leg and growled at Ryu again.

"You people just never like to play fair, do you?"

"Just be grateful I'm being nice."

"…wait, you're being a nice guy?"  
"Oh, yeah. Trust me; I can get a lot worse."

Juri got to her feet and lunged at Ryu with her fist raised.

"Then show me what worse is!"

Ryu smirked as he clenched his own fist.

"This."

He punched Juri right in the chin, sending her high into the air. But he didn't stop there. He shot up after her with another uppercut ready.

"SHIN…"

He punched her in the chest.

"SHOR…"

He punched her in the stomach.

"YUKEN!"

Getting her down below him, he charged her back to the ground and planted his fist against her as he did so. The moment they hit, a loud crash went through the room and it could be seen that the impact had left a large crater.

Ryu walked from it unscathed, but Juri lay there moaning in pain and unable to move.

"That oughta shut you up." Ryu said conclusively.

Rikuo showed off his strength again by digging one of the tanks out of the ground and throwing it at Adam, who simply unsheathed his blade and swung it with all his might, shattering the tank into tiny pieces before jumping at his adversary again. Rikuo's tail prevented a potential heel kick to his head, but before he could swing at Adam with his claws again, his arms were seized from behind by Ryu.

"Alright, buddy! Cure this guy and let's get the hell outta here!"

Adam nodded, planted his hand on Rikuo's forehead, and off went the visions. This time, he could see a younger version of himself (perhaps eleven years old) and Morrigan talking.

"**Adam…can I ask you something?"**

"**Sure, Morrigan. Anything."**

"**Do you…think I'm pretty?"  
"What kinda question is that? Of course you are!"**

The young Morrigan flushed bright red and giggled.

"**You're not just saying that to make me feel good?"  
"Nope. I mean it."**

"**Okay…thank you."**

"Well, she is." Adam thought with a smile. "She's the most beautiful woman I've ever met, and she's my best friend."

Then it fast forwarded to several years later, showing how Morrigan had cradled him at the moment of his death. The true Adam felt the pain in his chest, now remembering the violet dagger Skia pierce his heart.

"So I died in Morrigan's arms…good. I'd certainly want to be with her for anything like that."

The visions ended and Adam returned to reality satisfied. With the memories relieved from him, Rikuo opened his eyes again. This time they weren't glazed over and savage-looking, and Ryu released him upon seeing that. The merman stood and looked down at his hands.

"Wha…what have I been doing?" he asked.

"You've been acting like a savage beast, that's what." Adam replied.

"I knew that man wasn't trustworthy…he told me that I could have all the power I needed."

"A man? Who?"

"I'm not sure…a tall man wearing the strangest suit…he had this blank, pale and…near-emotionless face."

"Did you catch a name?"

"I'm afraid not…are you the one who rescued me?"

Adam smiled and held out his hand.

"Adam Kratos. It's a pleasure to meet the real you, Rikuo."

Rikuo smiled and returned the gesture.

"The pleasure is all mine. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

"Where?"

"I have some unfinished business to attend to."

Rikuo picked up one of the tanks again and threw it at nearby window, shattering it before jumping into the frame. He took one last look back at Adam as he departed.

"And if you find that man…give him my regards."

Adam gave the merman a two-fingered salute.

"Will do."

Rikuo nodded before jumping out the window, and Adam turned to find Ryu grasping Juri's throat.

"Alright, Han. Talk! What's the point in abducting a savage merman?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know…"

"That's why I asked. So what's going on? Is Seth back from the dead or are you a lackey for someone else now?"

Juri licked her lips one more time and ginned evilly as her eye glowed brighter and brighter until Ryu and Adam were forced to shield their eyes. When the light finally faded, Juri had disappeared. Right as Chun-Li had recovered as well.

"Damn!" Ryu shouted. "She got away! And we didn't learn a thing!"

"Look on the bright side." Chun-Li said. "We nabbed one of their bases."

"Good Lord…" Poison said in awe as she walked into the room, likely attempting to flee from the rest of the party. "What happened in GAH!"

"Do not move." Jon said, placing a claw on Poison's throat.

Poison remained silent as the rest of the party entered the room and stared in awe at the wreckage for a brief moment.

"Everyone alright in here?" Eric asked. "Where's the Darkstalker?"

"Took care of him already." Adam replied. "He's long gone now."

Adam looked at Jon taking special precautions to keep an eye on Poison.

"You can let her go now. I think she's learned her lesson."

Jon released the pink-haired dame, who immediately smiled at Adam.

"I gotta say, kid: I'm impressed. I didn't think anybody could take on Juri like you just did, but I guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, yeah, great. So are you gonna bail now or are you waiting for Chun to arrest you?"

"Y'know, these guys aren't any fun to hang around…mind if I tag along with you folks?"

Everyone in the room was surprised by her for a moment before Chun-Li had the nerve to speak.

"Are you that much of a thug that you'll just turn against your alliance the moment you get in a spot of trouble?"

"Yes. It's a point-blank question with an obvious answer, so yes."

"Forget it! Your gang's been giving the United Nations too much trouble, so I'm arresting you!"

"You know I'm a pretty good hacker? If you let me tag along I could probably figure out where the other Darkstalkers they're holding are."

"Wait, S.I.N. has more of them?!"

"Yep. C'mon, let me help out."

Adam rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Yeesh, so quick to loan your services…fine. But if you try to double-cross us, game over. You got that?"

Poison raised her hand in a mock Girl Scout pledge.

"I solemnly swear that I will be completely loyal to you, kid."

She lowered her hand and shot a sneaky look at Jon.

"Besides, I think there's some fellas in your little band here that could use some fun."

"Eh?" said our werewolf friend.

_**(POISON HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

_First Street Fight, then Mega Man, and now Final Fight. When will the crossovers end?...when I say they can. XD_

_There isn't too much I have to say right now except that there is one more character that's going to be joining the party next chapter, and then I think I'm gonna try to work on a filler chapter. Not sure what to do yet, but I've been watching a few gameplay videos of Poker Night at the Inventory, so you never know._


	13. Unwanted Attention

Chapter Thirteen

**Unwanted Attention**

"Mmm…wha…what's…"

When she felt a warm feeling on her arm, Morrigan's eyes fluttered open in slight confusion, and that confusion turned to shock when she saw Adam leering down at her. Adam was never awake this late at night, and what shocked her even more was that his eyes were half-shut as though he were still asleep.

"Adam…what are you…"

She noticed that his mouth was partly open, and he seemed to be staring at her neck. For whatever reason, this seemed to get under her skin in such a way that the stare felt almost…arousing. She said nothing as she pulled down what little of the blanket was covering her neck, completely offering herself to him. The moment she did, Adam gently leaned down and pressed his mouth against it. As soon as she felt Adam's teeth dig into her skin, a tingling sensation went through Morrigan's body like a current of electricity. The only difference being that electricity doesn't make you close your eyes and moan in pleasure...unless you're a kinky freak, but I digress.

She had no idea what Adam was doing, but she urged him on to keep going, almost to the point where she would begin to moan loudly enough for everyone else to hear it. The pleasure was just too much for her to hold in. It was infecting her whole body…growing fiercer…making her want to cry out for Adam to do it harder.

Right as it seemed that it would come to that, however, Adam let go and sat up in alarm with eyes now wide open. He seemed to not have any knowledge of what was going on, and when he looked at Morrigan and saw the bite marks on her neck, the confusion turned to panic.

"Wha…what am I doing?!" he sputtered. "I…did I just…"

Before Morrigan had any time to speak and attempt to comfort him (or rather make sense of what had just happened since she was just as confused as he had been), he jumped out of the bed and ran out the door as fast as he could, shielding his face in shame and tripping over Raptor on his way out.

"Bloody hell!" the zombie rocker exclaimed before sitting up and shaking himself out of his dazed state. "What's got his knickers in a knot?"

"Nothing, Raptor. Go back to sleep."

Raptor lazily obliged, while Morrigan sighed.

"The poor thing…I can't even began to imagine what he must be feeling right now."

But we can, can't we?

**A run from humiliation later…**

When Adam finally ran out of breath and stopped running, he was standing next to a river flowing through the city. He had no idea what he had just done, but he knew it had only made his already fragile mind ever more unstable.

"What happened…I don't even remember waking up and…oh, God, what's happening to me?"

He sighed and sat down, letting his legs hang down over the side of the cliff dropping off into the water below. He stared up at the moon in all its silver glory. For whatever reason, he felt comfort in letting the moonlight shine down on him. It gave an odd sense of security that he found soothing but at the same time unnerving. True, he wasn't fond of the sun, but why did he enjoy the moon so much?

That wasn't the only question that welled up in his head. Now he was beginning to question everything else that had gone on recently. Why hadn't Morrigan said that she was a succubus when the two of them first met? How did Sister Sophia know so much about him? Who WAS Sister Sophia? Why had his memories been scattered? Why had Demezoi been attacked by vampires? What did this whole S.I.N. thing have to do with him?! Why? What?! WHY?!

"Dammit…is there a reason for any of this, or is it just fate?. ..I'm starting to wish I had stayed dead. Why not just let me rest in peace?! It'd be a lot better than blowing my brains trying to figure out this miserable clusterfu…"

"Adam!"

"Shit…"

Morrigan dive-bombed down to the ground and planted her feet on the ground behind Adam. Adam himself didn't look at her, instead opting to hide his face.

"I…I bit you…" he said in a strained tone.

"So you're not hiding from it anymore?"

"No…there's no point. I saw it for myself."

Morrigan kneeled down next to him, draped an arm around Adam's shoulder and gently turned his head to make eye contact with him.

"Adam, it's alright. I'm not going to think any differently of you."

"…what?"

"You're still the same person I met all those years ago and nothing's going to…"

"Goddamn it!"

Adam had suddenly gotten up and started pacing angrily back and forth, leaving Morrigan to wonder just what he had going on in his head.

"What's wrong? I just said it was okay."

"I know that!"  
'What more do you want?"  
"Well…could you not be so nonchalant about it?!"

"Huh?"  
"I know that you're a succubus at that you're calm about a lot of stuff by nature but…I don't like it. It creeps me out. I bit you on the neck, for Christ's sake, and you're acting like all I did was break a glass!"

Morrigan's confusion only escalated from there. Perhaps it was that this was the first time anybody ever questioned her about her behaviour, but to hear it coming from Adam just made her feel a mix of sadness and annoyance.

"What's your point?" she asked.

"...why didn't you ever tell me that you were a succubus?"

"What…well, I…"

"You don't know, do you? Did you think I'd treat you differently, or that I'd run away from you?"

"No…I just thought you'd always have a feeling of dread around me."  
"Well, I don't have that now, do I?"

"You just don't understand, Adam."

"What is there to not understand?"  
"…would you have run away from me?"

"…well, maybe at that age, but why is it such a big deal?"

"I can't help who and what I am. I'm not mad at you just for nibbling me on the neck."

Here she salaciously narrowed her eyes and put on a devilish smile…you get it? Devilish, because she's a succubus…never mind.

"Besides," she continued. "Who's to say I didn't enjoy it?"

"Whoa, whoa, what?!"

Morrigan laid her chin on Adam's shoulder and stared lustfully into his eyes.

"I enjoyed it. Call me a sick bitch or whatever, but I guess I enjoyed more because it was you."

"…in retrospect, maybe it wasn't so bad after all."

"This slipped my mind a little while ago, but what did you remember this time?"

"That day when you asked me if I thought you were pretty and I said yes without a second thought."

"Are you having second thoughts now?"

"Nope. You're still as gorgeous as you ever were."

Morrigan giggled. She really was flattered, but she only swooned the first time he had said it. Now she just liked to hear him say it.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah…I guess dying wasn't so bad if I got to die in your arms."

"That, huh?"

"It was the first time I saw you in that weird outfit of yours…how did you ever wear that thing, anyhow?"

"Oh, that old thing? Y'know the term 'one size fits all'?"

"Sure."

"That outfit was one size fits small."

"Now you're calling yourself fat?"

"Not me. These big girls on the other hand…"

Adam grimaced as she smirked seductively at him.

"Okay, now you're just trying to bug me."

"Yeah. I am."

They both shared a laugh, but this turned to an ambience of passion when Adam gently brushed his fingertips against Morrigan's face. He had never realized how soft her skin was until this moment, and as he continued to feel it, the succubus smiled and pressed her own hand against his to hold it in place. Her hair blowing in the breeze completed the perfect instance, and as the lips slowly curled into a smile, Adam felt an urge. Similar to the one that he had apparently had a few minutes earlier, but just slightly different.

He leaned forward with his eyes shut, but in a panic, Morrigan turned her head and he instead kissed her cheek. Yet she played it off like that's what he had been aiming for.

"Aw, how sweet of you, Adam."

"Yeah…sure…"

Even now he was still confused why Morrigan wouldn't let him kiss her on the lips. Maybe she just wanted to wait for the perfect moment…as if it wasn't already there. Nonetheless, he shrugged it off with another point-blank question.

"What about flying?" he asked.

"What about it?"

"What's it like…flying through the wide open sky, looking down on the world below you, realizing just how unique you are?"

"In one word from the perspective of anyone OTHER than me? Breathtaking. Otherwise, the word is meh."

"Really? I mean, you can fly! All I can do is shoot energy from my hands…and since when could I do that, anyhow?!"

"Beats me, but trust me, Adam: you're fine just the way you are. You don't need to become anything else just to please me or Eric or anyone."

"Yeah, but Eric's not a human anymore."

"And though Felicia doesn't think any different of him, he still feels a little alienated. I just want you to be you. Understand?"

Adam smiled and let out a big and drawn-out sigh.

"How is it that you always make me feel better when I don't think you can?"  
"Maybe you should lower your expectations a little."

They embraced for all but a brief moment, trying to savour the moment while it lasted…and then Adam noticed something coming slowly towards them.

It was a young girl, but this was unlike any young girl he had ever seen before. Her skin was a light shade of blue, very similar to Raptor's. Her attire consisted of a magenta-colored robe with patterns of blue and gold all over it and blue pants jutting out from underneath. Her slender arms were out of the sleeves that simply hung at her sides because of it. While there was evidence that she had been wearing a hat before, her short indigo hair was trailing behind her now, and there was of all things a slip of yellow paper covered in Kanji symbols clipped to a headband she was wearing.

Adam smirked and stood up. Morrigan followed suit.

"So you're the next one?"

The girl slipped her arms into the sleeves and sank down into a fighting pose without a word. Much to Adam and Morrigan's surprise, out of the other end of the sleeves came gigantic claws. The girl opened her previously closed red eyes and glared at them menacingly. Adam grabbed his blade and unsheathed it while Morrigan readied her wing blades.

"No use in talking, huh?" Adam said. "Fine!"

The girl made the first move, swinging her first pair claws at Adam who simply flipped over it and landed on the second pair. His quick attempt at a slash was blocked by the first pair of claws as he was bucked off and onto the ground. When the girl made an attempt to bring the claws down on Adam, Morrigan rushed forward and kicked her leg up at a perfect angle before launching the girl away with a Soul Fist.

"Tough little brat, aren't you?" Morrigan mocked.

The girl got to her feet and swung her claws again. Upon realizing that the claws were attached to chains, the two were forced to jump out of the way.

"Hey, I can play the chain game, too, kid!" Adam shouted before aiming his arm and pulling the lever. "GET OVER HERE!"

Much to his surprise, he accidentally grabbed one of the claws and the girl yanked him towards her before giving him a sharp kick to the stomach. Morrigan came at her after morphing her wings and yanked Adam out of the girl's grasp with the ropes produced from it.

"You'd think two against one would make things one-sided." Adam sighed.

"It does…in her favour."

The girl attacked them again, this time swinging both of her claws inwards. The two backflipped out of the way.

"GHOST FURY!"  
"SHADOW BLADE!"

The Ghost Fury was deflected with a held up claw and Adam was knocked backward off his feet as a result. Morrigan's Shadow Blade clashed with the claws and she began pushing with all her might. She had to admit that despite the girl looking relatively young, she was insanely strong.

"Wait…is this girl one of those jiang shi things I've heard of?"

You know who it is now, don't you?

Hsien-Ko gritted her teeth before seizing the Shadow Blade and hurling Morrigan away from her. Morrigan herself simply began flapping her wings and suspending herself in mid-air.  
"That's the unfortunate disadvantage, honey." she mocked. "I've got wings. I'm aerodynamic. You've just got those huge claws weighing you down."

You know how people often say that payback is a bitch? So was Hsien-Ko as she mounted one claw and somehow catapulted herself right at the flying succubus for an attempt at piercing her heart. Morrigan's Shadow Blade clashed with it before she wrapped her arms around the zombie girl and brought her crashing to the ground. Adam rushed her right as she got up, and his blade met her claws.

Attack, block, counter. Occasionally a dodge or a flip, sometimes a well-placed kick. Adam suddenly brought his sword crashing down on Hsien-Ko's claws with all his might, forcing her to stumble forward before he shot his prosthetic arm forward and seized her neck. In a somewhat futile attempt, he tried to bring his other hand up to Hsien-Ko's forehead, but the strength she demonstrated against Morrigan had the exact same effect on him. She resisted to the best of her ability, outmatching Adam in every term of the word.

"Still needs some convincing, I see. Morrigan! She's all yours!"

Adam brought his knee up into her stomach. Her legs crumpled, and he bent down to seize her legs and toss her into the air, where Morrigan was quick to rush forward. Her wings shifted into ropes which she used to entwine Hsien-Ko's limbs, though she broke free in a matter of seconds and clung to Morrigan with her legs, forcing them both to fall to the ground. As soon as Morrigan tried to pick herself up from the ground, she was greeted with Hsien-Ko kicking her in the face. She skidded backwards and rested on the ground before slipping into unconsciousness. Upon seeing this, Adam grew enraged very quickly.

"She and I were having an perfect intimate moment before you came and ruined it, you psycho bitch…did my nuts just drop off, 'cause that sounds like something a girl would say."

Regardless of how feminine that bit of dialogue of his was, he shot forward.

"RAPID SPIRIT FIRE!

Hsien-Ko catapulted herself away from the barrage of energy before jetting forward with her foot outstretched. Adam grabbed her ankle and spun to throw her as far away from him as he could, but all that happened was her other foot made contact with the side of his face and sent him sprawling to the ground. As he stumbled, he felt his hand make contact with something and he was quick to grab a hold of it. Upon slightly regaining his sense from his moderate concussion-like state, he saw that it was the small slip of paper that had been strapped to her head.

"Hey, I got your stupid…um, paper thingy." he mumbled. "…not that it matters since I'm about to throw up everything I've ever eaten in my life."

"Boy! You have to help her!"

"…okay, I must have taken a bigger hit than I thought, because I could swear the stupid paper thingy just talked to me."

"And stop calling me that!"

Adam flipped out of the way of Hsien-Ko's next attack and landed behind a large rock jutting out from the ground in order to take a good look at what he had grabbed. The slip of paper now had a strange aura of light around its edges, and this aura seemed to brighten every time the voice spoke. The voice itself seemed to be of a young girl, and judging from how it seemed to be echoing in his ears, it would be hard to pinpoint exactly where it came from if he didn't have the source in the palm of his hand.

"I must be going crazy…" he muttered.

"You're not. I can hear every word you're saying."

"Oookaayyy…my name's Adam."

"Hello, Adam. I'm Mei-Ling. Now enough of figuring out how I can talk when I'm like this! I'll explain later! Just get over there and help my sister!"

"That thing is your sister?"

"Yes! Her name is Hsien-Ko…well, I call her Lei-Lei, but does that really matter at a time like this?!"

"Okay, what do I do? Does she have a weak point?"

"If you can get her arms out of those sleeves, it'll make things easier for you, but I can't really call it a weak point."

"Close enough. I'm goin' in!"

"And for the love of God, don't hurt her too badly!"

He jumped over the rock and planted his sword in the ground, then slid under Hsien-Ko's legs and grabbed them as he went to bring her down to the ground. She got to her feet and began swinging her massive claws at him yet again, only to discover he was swifter than he thought when he landed on top of one and wrestled her to the ground. Once he was sure he had her pinned down with his knees, he pulled at the sleeves until they ripped clean off. With a satisfied smirk, Adam jumped off her.

"So what're you gonna do now?"

She answered him by flipping up and delivering a sharp karate chop to the side of his neck, making him reel back to take several deep breathes.

"You coulda told me she knows kung fu."

"I thought it would pretty obvious judging from the getup. This isn't the 1920s where you can smack a girl and she won't do anything about it."

Keeping with the kung fu line, Hsien-Ko sank into a fighting stance and looked ready to tear Adam's head off. Adam himself readied his prosthetic arm and jabbed it forward the second she moved. The result? He was bombarded with a flurry of punches and only had time to hit her once in the chest before she flip-kicked him and sent him rolling over the nearby cliff, giving him just enough time to grab on with his prosthetic arm. Hsien-Ko jammed her foot down on Adam's hand and attempted to pry it loose to send him tumbling into the river below.

"You serious here, kid? I could do this all night."

"Adam, get me back up on her head! I might be able to hold her off long enough for you to put her down!"

"Easier said than done, but I'll give it a shot."

Attempting to grab the ledge with his real hand was no good. All that happened was Hsien-Ko stomping on it and forcing him to reel back. She continued to stomp on his prosthetic hand, not realizing that it was taking little to no effect until she was finally able to devise an idea. She grabbed one of the torn-off sleeves and shoved her arm back into it, producing a set of claws. Adam caught onto her idea, and just when it looked like she was going to slash away at the ground that held Adam from the water far below…

"VALKYRIE TURN!"

Hsien-Ko was suddenly launched into the air by a black screw-like shape. Once Adam saw Morrigan peek her head over the cliff and grab his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not gonna lie: for a second, I thought she had me."

"Well, then I guess I'm your guardian angel."

Once Adam was back on his feet, Hsien-Ko readied herself, yet was unprepared when Adam rushed forward and planted the paper back on her forehead. All at once, Hsien-Ko seized up.

"Lei-Lei! Stop!" Mei-Ling shouted. "Don't hurt these people! They just want to help you!"

Hsien-Ko started screeching and trashing about violently, likely trying to get the voice to stop so she could go back to killing her target.

"It's no use!" Morrigan growled. "Adam! Now!"

Adam rushed forward, spun Hsien-Ko around, and planted his hand on her forehead. The vision began, and right away he was confused. Again he was looking through the eyes of someone he didn't know, looking a very tall man with pale blue skin and garbed in a leather blue outfit. This man smirked at whoever it was Adam had the perspective of.

"**Oh, Demitri. You and your outrageous pursuits."**

"Demitri…then that means this man is..."

"**I am not in the mood for your absurd remarks, Dohma, and you should be aware that I do not take kindly to intruders in my abode. Leave at once."**

"**Normally I would be one to say that, but this is a special time. After all, how long have you been trying to usurp the throne of Makai and failing brutally at it?"**

"**Be gone before you force my hand, you wretched little ape."**

"**My joking aside, I have to come to offer you a proposition. After all, you should know that I would greatly enjoy seeing Makai have a proper ruler, and you do seem to fit the bill so to speak."**

"**Well, out with it, then!"**

"**As you know, the dear queen of the demon world is not exactly the youngest person in existence anymore, and she will be needing a husband in order to maintain her rule."**

"**Blast it, Jedah, I am not the sort to toy with. Out with it, damn you!"**

"**My point is that I may have found a way for you to sneak your way in as a new ruler, and it involves a certain young lad that you had involvement in the creation of."**

Nothing was said for a brief moment. Adam's vision seemed to zoom in towards Jedah, hinting that Demitri had leaned forward in curiosity.

"**Continue."**

The vision ended as Adam stumbled backwards, forcing Morrigan to rush forward to catch him.

"Maximoff and that Jedah guy…they're working together…"

"Jedah?" Morrigan asked. "You saw him?"

"It was another vision that I never had. I keep seeing things through someone else's eyes…like I didn't see something that someone wants me to see."

As Morrigan steadied Adam, Hsien-Ko groaned and opened her eyes. They were now a light yellowish shade, and seemed to glitter slightly.

"Wha…where am I?" she mumbled.

"Sis! You're okay!" Mei-Ling cheered.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but…what did Jedah do to me?"

That name…was this the man that Jon, Raptor, Lilith, and Rikuo had been talking about?

Adam stepped forward.

"Sorry. You'll probably be wanting these back." he said before handing her the torn-off sleeves. "I kind of had to…"

"Say no more. If Jedah Dohma's involved, you can guarantee someone's gonna wind up getting used against their own will. I just didn't think it would be me. Anyway…"

She gave Adam and Morrigan a deep bow.

"My name is Hsien-Ko. How can my sister and I be of service to the two of you?"

Do I really need to tell you what happened next?

"Hmm…well, I'd certainly like to give Jedah a kick in the pants for making me attack innocent people, so count me in!"

"Hey, I heard some shouts!" called Raptor as he came up the hill to see what was going on. "Are you two mates alright…"

He was at a loss for words for a brief moment when he saw who was with the two he had called for.

"Oh, crap, it's you!" Hsien-Ko groaned.

Adam could swear he saw Raptor's heart try to jump out of his chest, and he didn't even know if there was anything there to begin with.

"Lei-Lei! How are you, love?! What, you ain't happy to see good ol' Lord Raptor?"

Hsien-Ko turned to Adam with the most irritated face you could ever see.

"On second thought, kill me. Please for the love of all that is decent in the world, kill me."

_**(HSIEN-KO HAS JOINED THE PARTY)**_

_Well, this story is back after a long break. I hope everyone had a good Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever holiday it is you celebrate. Here's an early New Year's Day gift to all you good folks except the ones in China since their New Year starts on the 23rd of January, not the 1st. _

_I figured I'd supply some sort of soundtrack to this story like I'm doing with Star Fox: Subspecies. The same conditions apply: it goes over a certain moment, and I'm going to update in when necessary. Now that that's out of the way, have a good rest of 2012 since we didn't die like everyone thought._

**SOUNDTRACK SO FAR**

_The village of Demezoi- _"Solitary Shell" by Dream Theater

_Adam and Morrigan- _"Life in Technicolor" by Coldplay

_The destruction of Demezoi- _"And Soon the World Will Cease to Be" by Amon Amarth

_Adam's death- _"Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri

_Adam versus Ryu- _Ryu's theme from Street Fighter IV

_Adam versus Morrigan- _"Sweet Dreams are Made of This" by Marilyn Manson

_Eric's song- _"Come Sail Away" by Styx

_Eric and Felicia- _"Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional

_Eric versus Jon- _"Bloodlines" by Dethklok

_Eric versus Raptor- _"Black Widow of la Porte" by John 5 and Jim Root

_Eric and Raptor's song- _"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne

_Adam versus Lilith- _"Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore

_Adam and Lilith's song- _"The Islander" by Nightwish

_Lilith versus Axel- _Dr. Wily's stage from Mega Man 2 (SongeLeReveur version)

_S.I.N. base (hidden)- _"Playing With Danger" from Team Fortress 2

_S.I.N. base (detected)- _"Fly Routine" by Hostile Groove

_Adam and Chun-Li versus Rikuo and Juri- _Chun-Li's theme from Street Fighter IV

_Adam and Morrigan versus Hsien-Ko- _Sakura's theme from Street Fighter IV


	14. Game Time

Chapter Fourteen

**Game Time**

Eric awoke the following morning to light streaming in through the window in his room. He shielded his eyes for a brief moment before yawning and getting up out of bed. Right away he walked out into the tour bus' hallway to make his way to bathroom, only to get a surprised yelp when he opened the door.

"Easy there, Eric! I'm still drying off!" Felicia laughed.

"Good God!"

He knew he had an excuse since he wasn't completely awake yet, yet he still felt ashamed and very shocked to walk in on Felicia completely naked…or wait…was she? All of her indecent spots seemed to be covered up with lines of white fur licking across her whole body, though it still exposed more than he would have preferred to see.

"Aww, what's wrong? It's not like seeing me naked is going to cheapen our relationship, is it?"

"I, uh…I don't know how to respond to that…and is it just me, or do you have a bigger rack than Morrigan?!"

"I do? Cool!"

Taking myself out of the narrative, I'm going to deliver a fun fact to the audience: yes, Felicia's bust size is in fact larger than Morrigan's. This is largely believed to be because Felicia was originally going to be a sexy character while Morrigan would be a cute character. The catch was that Morrigan was designed first, and when they settled on an appearance, Morrigan had pretty much the sexiest appearance they could come up with, so it was switched around.

Another fun fact: it's really hard to write this story without sounding like a complete pervert. I still don't know how Capcom does it.

Despite her not really being naked, Eric still covered his eyes and waited for Felicia to get completely dried off. Upon her doing so, she lowered his hand to reveal her face just inches from his own.

"It's okay, Eric. We're a couple. I don't mind if you see me like this."

He hadn't paid attention. He had flinched on the inside after mentioning Morrigan's name since he'd had a less-than-appreciated dream the previous night involving the emerald-haired succubus. He bit his lip and turned away from Felicia, immediately starting to puzzle her.

"Is something wrong?"

"…I've just been thinking about what we're doing for Adam…are we really getting any sort of reward out of it?"

"Isn't Adam your best friend? You should just help him regardless of whether it'll reward you or not."

"I know, but…there's something about Morrigan that I think you should know."

He proceeded to tell her exactly what had happened. Everything seemed to shock the young catgirl further and further, and she seemed devastated when he stated sadly that he didn't know the fate of his father.

"You think he died?"

"I don't know. I know it's more than likely that he did, but…I just have this itching feeling that he's still alive…that he's looking for to this day and he won't stop until either he dies or he finds me."

"But do you really think that Morrigan is responsible for all of it?"

He wanted to say yes. He had seen her true form with his own eyes on that fateful day when the place he loved went to total hell, but did he really have proof that she had anything to do with it? Not really. Besides, all she cared about now was helping Adam. If she was trying to make a good impression on him after what had happened, she was doing a fairly decent job.

"I really have no idea. I'm not sure of anything…with all the Darkstalkers floating around, I don't think anybody can, especially not Adam."

**Speaking of Adam…**

Adam rolled out of bed when he felt an unbelievable pain in his stomach. For a few seconds, he was on his knees and clutching at it, not having any idea of what was going on. As he stood up, he began to see that his vision had gone from completely normal to blood red, and all he could do was stumble about. His breath came out in strained heaves, and for a moment he thought he was going to throw up before he tripped over his own feet.

Upon getting to his knees again, he clutched at his head. It was beginning to hurt beyond belief like everyone that had come on this insane journey with him was screeching in his ears. The pain was so much, but it only got worse when he felt a strange feeling running through his arms.

He looked down at them and saw to his horror that his veins were bulging out of his skin and pulsating as though something other than blood was being pumped through his arms. The pain in his stomach spread to his entire body, and as his skin slowly started to turn a singed red colour, he screamed at the top of his lungs…only to fall out of bed yet again.

Adam's head shot up and he looked down at his body. Nothing was pulsing through his veins, and his vision was completely normal. He let his breathing and heart beat slow down before sighing and leaning back against the wall to find Morrigan looking at him in complete terror.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I…yeah…just had a really bad dream."

"I could shake off the fact that you bit me in the neck last night, but I was looking into your dreams while you were sleeping and that didn't look like 'just a bad dream'. Do you think you should see a doctor or something?"

"It's nothing…please just don't talk about it."

Morrigan drifted off of the bed and clasped Adam's cheeks with her hands.

"Adam, you know that if anything's wrong you can just talk to me, right?"

"Of course."

"So please, tell me: are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? You don't sound like it."

"I am. Trust me: I'd feel much worse if you weren't here with me."

Morrigan's face flushed bright red and she warmly smiled.

"Oh, you…you little tramp!" she giggled under her breath.

"What? Don't honestly tell me that embarrassed you. You're a succubus for goodness sake."

"Ooo, what's going on in HERE?" drawled a voice from the door.

The two turned to find Poison leaning against the door frame with a smirk on her face. Judging from how she was wrapped up in a towel, it was safe to assume she had just gotten out of the shower.

"I'd be happy to join in with the snuggling if there's room for one more." she chuckled.

Adam grimaced and got to his feet.

"That won't be necessary."

"I'll tell you what is, though: I've got some good info on S.I.N. for us to check out."

She led the two of them out to the other room where she had a laptop set up on the glass table in front of the couch that Ryu was snoring on.

"Hoshi!" Poison said. "Up you get!"

Ryu groaned and turned over in his sleep, not moving until Poison cracked her knuckles and brought her hand down hard on his backside.

"Yeow! Jesus H, what's wrong with you?!"

"I asked nicely."

Ryu shot her a dirty look before getting up and going into the bathroom. Poison sat down behind the laptop and fiddled with it for a few moments before she turned it around to show Adam and Morrigan the screen. The screen itself displayed a map of Japan with a marker placed on where they had been last night.

"I've managed to confirm that there are in fact two more S.I.N. bases scattered around the country, and that both of them are holding one of these Darkstalker things that you guys keep talking about."

"You did this all on your own?" Adam asked.

"I may look like a stereotypical slutty dominatrix, but I'm actually pretty smart…but then again, if I was really that smart, I wouldn't be a criminal, would I?"

"I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who asked."

"Right. Anyway, all this really proves is that S.I.N. does have something to do with this. As for who's behind all this stuff, what they want the Darkstalkers for, or even where these bases are, I've got no idea. Thankfully, though, I've got a friend who's meeting me at the hotel tonight who said he's got some pretty good info on where we could look."

"Does Chun-Li know about this?"

"And let her take the credit for it? Don't be silly. It's good timing for my friend and I to meet up, too. They're having a semi-formal something-or-other down on the ground floor tonight."

"But we don't have any tuxes or dresses for anyone."

"Someone say semi-formal?" asked Felicia as she and Eric came in the room.

**Later that night…**

"Damn, Eric, you look pretty cute in that tux." Poison said. "How do you feel?"  
"Uhh…itchy…that's really the only word I can come up with."

"Peachy. Just be sure to stay out of the moonlight…you and your sexy friend over there."

"Eh?" replied Jon.

The group was already down on the ground floor of the hotel, each wearing a snazzy tuxedo or a lovely dress. A few of them had needed to hide something about them to keep the other guests from becoming too suspicious, such as Lilith and Morrigan hiding their wings, Adam wearing a glove to keep people from noticing his prosthetic hand, and Raptor somehow shape-shifting his head to make himself look more human.

Upon entering the parlor, they could see several tables with champagne, wine, and the like set up for the party-goers to take a drink, a band playing slow jazz music that was admittedly making Raptor start to fall asleep from how dreary and boring it sounded, and several tables set up for a game of poker. In fact, one of the dealers was calling for another participant.

"Any good folks willing to risk a lot to gain even more? Hurry, hurry, hurry, not much time left here!" he called.

I think it's high time that Raptor has his chance to shine.

"About bloody time!"

Godawful rhyme.

Raptor stepped forward.

"I'm in."

The dealer nodded.

"Players, if you may introduce yourselves to your opponents."

The first opponent was a tall man with shaggy white hair and a billowing red trench coat. He had a bit of a cocky look to him, but he seemed nice enough when he offered his hand to Raptor and shook it.

"Name's Dante."

The second opponent was a very well-dressed man with an odd-looking haircut, a blue tuxedo, and a red tie.

"Phoenix Wright at your service."

The third opponent was a slightly sloppily dressed man with a leather jacket and a camera hanging from his neck.

"Frank West. Nice to meet you."

The final opponent was a very scantily-clad young girl with long violet hair clasped into a ponytail. Her skin indicated that she may have been Middle Eastern, as well as her voice.

"I'm Shantae."

"Nice to meet you all. Name's Zabel Zarock, but if you like, you can call me Lord Raptor."

The six sat down at the table, and the dealer passed each of the players two cards and 15,000 yen's worth of poker chips to start. Since Raptor was left of the dealer, he went first.

"So Raptor," Dante started. "What is it you do for a living?"

"Me? I'm a bloody rock star, mate! Where have you been?"

"Probably to Hell and back…literally. That's all I'm doing these days."

"Really? What for?"

"Demon hunting. I run a business in the States called Devil Never Cry."

"Never heard of it. I bet 1,500."

The other four players called.

"Wouldn't surprise me too much." Dante continued. "Lately it's less of a business and more of a duty...I'm thinkin' I'll raise you 2,000. So how about you, Phoenix?"

"Probably the most difficult job anybody in this room has: keeping folks out of jail or getting them thrown in it."

"Ah, a lawyer, huh?"

"Yeah, and let me tell you about this one girl named Dahlia Hawthorne. My mentor managed to bust her once, but she sure gave everyone a scare by basically seducing the entire jury and even trying to get me in trouble since I dated her in high school."

"Sounds like a succubus to me." Dante replied. "Need me to come over there and blast her full of holes?"

"Hoo, boy, I wish you could have."

They went about a few more hands, and for the most part, it seemed Frank was the big contender for this game since he waited until the last card during one hand and suddenly bet a large amount, nearly demolishing the other four.

"Damn, West, you're pretty good at this." Raptor said.

"It's a pastime of mine. That or killing zombies."  
"Killing zombies?"

"Yeah, I've been involved in too many virus outbreaks. Some of them were even worse than the one in Raccoon City in '98. And to think before it I had a cool job as a photojournalist."

Shantae stifled a laugh.  
"You took pictures to get money? That's so cute!"

"It's not cute! I've covered wars, y'know!"

**Intermission 1 (Time for a bonding moment!)…**

"Hmm…I do not know if this is the best choice at the moment." Jon grimaced, anxiously clutching the glass of wine in his hand.

He jumped and had nearly unsheathed his billy club when Poison suddenly came up behind him.

"Sorry about that."

"Good Lord, woman, I know you are a criminal, but show a little decency!"

"Hey, I said sorry. It's funny, though. I thought a big fella like you would love to drunk at a party like this."

"I do not drink…not wine, at least. I prefer a good strong whiskey."

"Well, that's a bummer. I'd love to see your animalistic side when you get a little tipsy."

"Eh?"

Third time's the charm…or maybe not.

"There's somethin' I've been meaning to ask you, Jon."

"And what might that be?"

"Why are you helping Adam?"

"I have a better question: why are you?"

"Because Chun-Li would have probably arrested me if I didn't."

"You're damn right I would've arrested you." Chun-Li sneered before choking down another glass of wine.

Jon rolled his eyes.

"I thought as much."

"Aw, come on. Is that any way to talk to a lady?"

"Due to my being alone most of my life, I treat women as I would anyone else I have no quarrel with."

"Oh, so that's what's wrong. You need some loving in your life."

"That will not be necessary."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

Jon attempted to walk away, but Poison persisted.

"C'mon, what's up? You don't really seem to be very comfortable around me."

"If you must know, I am assisting Adam as compensation for tainting young Master Eric and transforming him into a werewolf."

"Simple enough. Any ulterior motives?"

"Do I seem like the kind of person who would do a thing such as that?"

"Well, you and Felicia seem really close. You treat her like a sister."

"More like a daughter. She is rather childish, but I suppose that is what Eric finds attractive about her."

"And what about you? What do you find attractive in a woman?"

"The ability to know when she is irritating me… 'hint, hint' as they say."

"Hey, I'm just trying to open up to you. There's no need to turn me away."

Jon sighed. Poison may have been annoying, but it's not like she was deliberately trying to do so. She just wanted to know more about him. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to spill out just a little bit.

"The truth is that I jump at any oppourtunity to help someone because it makes me feel wanted. You see, I lived alone for most of life as my mother died when I was very young and I had no contact with my father. Upon discovering what I was, I did not feel as though I could blame them. Instead, I felt hope. The fact that a human being could love a creature of the night makes me think that not everyone will turn us away. Unfortunately, I have only found a small handful of people who would be willing to do so."

"So…"

"It is not the succubi, vampires, and werewolves that have a problem with the world. It is the world that seems to have a problem with them. When is the last time you ever saw a vampire go into a town and be welcomed with open arms?"

"_Twilight._ You have to admit, though: it makes sense. People are afraid of the things they know the least about. For example, because I'm not exactly the most feminine girl in the world, a lot of people think I'm a dude."

Of course, her saying it won't stop the speculation, now will it?

"My point is," she continued. "That you need to prove to people that you're not what they think you are. Otherwise they're just gonna discriminate against you all your life. Granted, you've made a good impression on me and the rest of the gang, but that's not gonna be enough when you go out to get hitched."

Jon stood speechless that someone like Poison could be so philosophical, but he smiled with satisfaction that she had finally had a real conversation with him.

"Thank you, Poison…actually, what is your real name?"  
"Oh, that? You don't need to know. And by the way, I'm open to be a candidate for the you getting hitched idea if you'd like."

"Eh?"

**Back to the game…**

"Raise 4,000." said Phoenix.

Raptor: "Fold."

Dante: "Fold."

Frank: "Fold."

Shantae: "Call."

Everyone looked at the young woman in surprise.

"You serious?" Dante asked. "After a huge bet like that?"

"I'm a genie, honey. Running out of cash is the least of my worries."

"A genie, huh? Don't know much about them."

"Half-genie, really. About all I can do in terms of the supernatural is just spin pixie dust around my fingers and dance to Shakira…and I can transform into an elephant, but that's not really any fun."

"Man, I'd like to see that…the dancing to Shakira thing, I mean."

"I bet you would, buddy boy."

"Y'know I'm half-demon?"

"No way! …then again, that would explain the white hair."

"Yeah…take notes, people. My hair's white. Not brown. WHITE!"

The fifth card popped up and the men all groaned and facepalmed as Shantae pulled in all the cash with her flush.

"Running out of cash may not worry me, but that doesn't mean I don't want a big wad of it."

"Sheesh." Frank smirked. "I coulda bought a freakin' car and ten rifles with this kind of money, and what am I doing? Getting robbed by a genie."

The dealer set out another hand of cards for the players to use. Raptor checked to see that he had two aces, and as the dealer turned up the first two cards, he saw that one of them was also an ace, which is…ace. (Insert infamous _CSI: Miami _joke here)

"How much do you get paid for your job, Frank?" asked Phoenix.

"Not enough. Not only is it zombies I've had to deal with, but some of the biggest whack-jobs that should be in an asylum but aren't."

"Reminds me of Dahlia."

"Yeah, but does Dahlia take one look at you for a second, assume you're doing something sneaky and yell 'THIS IS MY STOOOOOOORE'?"

"Uhhh…she yelled 'MIA FEEEEY' when she got busted. Does that count?"

"Nope, because she didn't try to run you or Mia over with a shopping cart…of death."

"…you win. That's a lunatic if I've ever heard of one."

"Either that or he just really liked his store."

The fourth card went up. A seven. Shantae seemed to miss the point of the term "poker face", as the boys immediately saw a smirk form on her lips.

"Fold." they all said simultaneously.

"Oh, dick move, you guys, come on!"

"You gotta know when to hold 'em…" Dante started.

Phoenix: "Know when to fold 'em…"

Frank: "Know when to walk away…"

Raptor: "Know when to run…"

Shantae rolled her eyes, but smirked nonetheless. These boys were a lot of fun to gamble with.

"You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table…" she joined in.

All: "They'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."

That of course was "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers…just so you know.

Raptor played a quick chord on his guitar for effect and all five shared a good hearty laugh. One thing was for certain: solid friendships had been formed between all of them…or they were too drunk to know what they were doing. Your choice.

**Intermission 2…**

"This is certainly a stretch." Ryu said as he joined Adam in sitting on the balcony ledge overlooking the city. "I thought you'd been down there making new friends with your kind of recruitment skills."

"I'm not feeling very social today."

Ryu lightly punched Adam`s prosthetic arm.

"So what's up, buddy?"

"I guess I just felt like talking to a human being for once, and if I'm gonna talk to any human being, it's sure as hell not gonna be Poison."

"Makes sense. Are you okay?"

"No. It's one of those times I wish I could turn my brain off because I won't stop thinking about things that just wind up making me depressed."

"Like what?"

"Like something I should have asked from the very beginning: why are you guys helping me? I never asked any of you to come along with me, and yet for some reason you all did anyway. The only ones that are really justified are Morrigan and Lilith since Morrigan had nowhere else to go and she would've killed Lilith if I hadn't intervened. It can't be just because you'd feel bad if you said no, don't you dare tell me that's it."

"It's not, and the reason we're helping you…or at least the reason I'M helping you is because I can relate to your situation. Y'see this?"

Ryu pulled his sleeve up slightly to reveal a strange symbol on his wrist.

"You know what that is?"

"A tattoo?"

"No. It's the symbol of the Satsui no Hado, or Evil Intent. It's a dark power that's been sealed inside me for as long as I can remember. It activates when I'm at my breaking point and it basically turns me into an uncontrollable monster."

"Is that why you can do those Hadoken and Shoryuken things?"  
"Actually, no. Anyone can pull that off if they try. The point is that since I have this thing inside me, I need someone by my side to help me turn back to normal whether it's Chun-Li, my buddy Ken Masters, or anybody else. I never asked them to help me out with this, but I'm pretty sure I've figured out why they want to help me. It's because they know there's a good person in here that will do anything to make things go back to the way they were before. That's why I feel I have to help you, and if my guess is correct, it might be why everyone else wants to help you, too."

It all made sense, yet Adam still felt that he had the right to complain about it."

"What about ulterior motives? What if they're just using me?"

"I say take advantage of it. Yes, Hsien-Ko just wants to get back at this Jedah guy, Lilith wants to use you as a shield against Morrigan, and Poison is using your trusts as method to keep Chun-Li from arresting her, but deep down they feel as though they won't be complete until they see that you get back what's yours. And let's not forget: if you hadn't have had your memories scattered, then we wouldn't be here helping you and you wouldn't have made so many friends."

Ryu reached out his hand and laid it on Adam's shoulder.

"You're a good person, buddy, and if I don't get a reward for helping you take back what's yours, who cares? I'm just glad I could go on a crazy adventure like this and meet new people."

Adam smiled.

"Thanks, Ryu. You really are a lot like me. You and Eric are like brothers I've never had."

"That's real nice of you to say, man. But hey, don't take our friendship for granted just because I'm one of the few humans in our group. The non-humans are just as friendly, especially Morrigan seeing as how you two are an item."  
"Actually we aren't."

"Wha…really? You two sleep in the same bed!"

"We've been doing that since we were kids."

"Haven't you kissed her before?"

"On the cheek, yes, but never full on the lips. She just doesn't allow that for some reason. I dunno, maybe it's because she's a succubus and she'd feel tied down if she engaged in a relationship with me, or maybe she just takes personal space a little seriously."

Morrigan Aensland taking personal space seriously? That's like Spider-Man obeying the laws of physics.

"Anyway, you shouldn't be complaining, 'cause I don't hear people whining that you and Chun-Li aren't married or anything."

"It's because she'd snap me in half with her legs if I ever even thought that we were an item. Yeah, I may have an evil power lurking in me that could probably let me tear a building down with my bare hands, and Chun-Li may be a very pretty woman, but if you make her mad even for a second, you need to pack up your crap and get the hell out before she…I don't know, puts a burlap sack on her head and hacks yours off with a chainsaw."

"…ouch."

"She doesn't play, man."

**Back to the game again…**

"Alright, I'm out." Frank said, gathering up the few chips he had left. "You guys are just too good for me."

"Ah, too bad." Raptor sighed. "It was nice meetin' ya, Frank."

The ex-photojournalist took his chips and drink and walked off, leaving the other four to finish the game.

"Dante?" Shantae began. "Are you in a relationship?"

"A sexy blonde girl named Trish. She helps me run my business."

"So she's your unpaid intern?"

"Hey, that's funny…really. But in all seriousness, she's actually my partner, and to be honest, she's a lot tougher than I am. She could have me pinned in less than a minute."

"Sounds kinky."

"You think that's kinky, you should meet Franziska von Karma." Phoenix spoke up. "Have you ever seen a court case where one of the prosecutors carries a whip around, let alone uses it freely on everybody except her brother?"

"Jesus Christ, dude! Makes you wonder how she hasn't been arrested herself!" Raptor sputtered.

"I guess courts just aren't as uptight as they used to be after the Chewbacca defense and all. It's like half of the people I meet should go to jail and the other half should have to deal with Dante here."

Dante smirked.

"No problem, bud. Here if you need me. How about...excuse my language, but f*ck it. All in."

In one of the most nonchalant motions they had ever seen, Dante pushed all of his money forward. He either knew exactly what he was doing or he was in a rush to get the game over with. He didn't have much left and Phoenix was ahead by a mile, but the other three remaining players responded with a call.

"Hmm…check." Phoenix said.

Shantae and Raptor followed suit, and the dealer turned over the last card. Phoenix turned up his cards and revealed a pair of aces. Shantae revealed a flush, as did Raptor in the same suit.

"Ha!" Dante whooped before tossing his cards to the middle of the table for everyone to see. "Boom, baby!"

Four of a kind. Dante pulled in the massive amount of cash and got himself back in the game, cockily leaning back in the chair.

"Piece a' cake."

"Indeed it is. That's a comeback if I've ever seen one." Phoenix remarked. "I imagine your kids are gonna have the same kind of luck as you."

"Hey, the white hair may be a contradiction but I'm still in my youth, man. I've got a while to go before I'm really eligible to be a dad."

"Kids, eh? Nothing quite like them." Shantae commented.

The three men all turned the heads toward her with a confused look that only perplexed her.

"What?"

"Uhh…aren't you a kid?" Raptor asked.

"Huh?! Of course not! If I was a kid, would have these?"

She motioned downward where the men refused to look.

"Point taken." Raptor said. "Hmm...how's about 4,000, mates?"

"Sounds good. Call." Dante replied, as did the others.

They played in silence for another minute or so before Raptor spoke.

"Sheesh, I could go for a nice cold beer right about now. Don't they have any at this joint?"

"I wouldn't say so." Phoenix replied. "Though a beer would be nice. That's the one thing that can get my mood up after a bad day at work. What about you, Dante?"

"Me? Hoo, boy. You get a dhampir with two guns, a sword, and attitude and get him tipsy, you're in for a fun night. I've been trying to kick the habit recently since it's not worth the hangover."

"Sheesh. You men and your drinks." Shantae chucked.

"So am I to assume that you don't drink?"

"No, I meant that you guys go nuts with just beer. Get me some scotch and some vodka, and you'll have to hold me down just so the world won't blow up."

Phoenix bit his lip and muttered "I think you'd like that" under his breath.

The fifth card was turned up and…

"Aw, come on!"

"Damn!"

"Motherf*cker!"

"Freakin' ace!"

**Intermission 3…**

"God, I'm so booooored!" Eric whined. "This music is driving me crazy!"

"You and me both, man." Axel agreed. "I can handle a lot of stupid musical genres, but jazz isn't one of them…and does anybody really consider that good drumming? I can drum so fast it would make Lars Ulrich look like a first-grader."

The two looked over and saw Adam and Ryu coming towards from outside.

"You boys were gone for a while." Axel said. "You should have stayed. There was these five minutes of the band playing a freeform jazz odyssey, it was so exciting…really."

"Hello, boys." said Hsien-Ko as she, Lilith, Felicia, and Chun-Li approached them. "Care to dance?"

"Uhh…"

The boys had no time to react before each girl grabbed one of them and dragged them out into the slow-dancing crowd. Adam himself was the most confused out of all of them since Hsien-Ko had rather forcibly seized him and was looking him straight in the eyes with a warm smile as she gently swayed him to the music.

"You know, I never got to thank you for getting me back to normal last night." she said softly. "I really appreciate it."

"Um…no problem. Anytime I guess…"

"I can't remember too much of our fight, but you're really strong. Not to mention that arm…where did you get that?"

"From Eric's father. My mother said I was born without a right arm, so maybe it was some kind of birth defect. I don't know."

"Doesn't look like it's made your life any…"

"Hsien-Ko, I need to say something…"

"Call me Lei-Lei."

"Um…okay, Lei-Lei. Let me just stop you right there and say that this would be a little better of a tender moment if I didn't think you were trying to seduce me…and if I didn't know that the paper thing on your head is your sister and she can hear every word we're saying."

"Huh?" said Mei-Ling. "No, no, I'm not listening! Really! You guys just do whatever!"

Hsien-Ko bit her lip.

"Yeah. The thing is I can't take her off. As a jiang shi, I need Mei-Ling as a ward to keep myself from becoming…"

"An unstoppable monster?"

"Yeah...how'd you know?"

"I had a feeling."

"Well, that's how it is. The two of us have really just been living for each other for the longest time. We've always felt a little alone in the world. There's always people who'll say they understand a dark past, but there's only a handful of people who can really know exactly what we go through."

Adam smiled and gently brought a hand to Hsien-Ko's shoulder.

"I can't say I fully understand, but I think I can get a pretty good idea."

Hsien-Ko smiled and slowly began to embrace Adam, making him realize that she really was an undead creature when he felt just how cold her skin was. That cold feeling was quickly broken because before she could completely pull herself against him, Morrigan intervened.

"Not getting too heavily involved with Adam, are you, Lei-Lei?"

"Back off, Morrigan! I was here first!"

"Why don't you go hang out with Raptor? He just finished up his poker game."

Indeed he had. It turned out that Dante had somehow won by whatever stroke of luck had swept across the poker table that night, but the other players congratulated him before they all separated.

"Great to meet you, Dante!" Raptor called. "Let's have a drink sometime!"

"You got it, man!" Dante called back.

Raptor quickly sidled up to the small group with a cocky grin.

"And what was that about dear Lei-Lei hanging out with me?"

"Oh, for goodness sake…that's it. I'm out."

She gave Adam a disappointed look before walking away.

"Hey, where ya goin', honey?" Raptor called.

Adam looked on in moderate dismay. He was beginning to feel a little comforted by Hsien-Ko's presence, like the two of them were forming a bond together. But of course Morrigan had to jump in and ruin it in a nonchalant display of jealousy. He turned towards her with a cross look.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" he demanded…before looking down and realizing just how little Morrigan's dress covered up.

"Ask yourself: which one of us girls would you rather dance with? One that you met last night or one you've known for half your life?"

He couldn't object. It made far too much sense. He felt bad for doing it, but he took Morrigan's hands and led her along in a slow and graceful dance, spinning her like a ballerina and lowering her nearly to the floor before suddenly pulling her back up. He still felt bad for it despite how peaceful everything seemed right now, but holding Morrigan in his arms like this and staring into her eyes made him feel as though he were drifting away from everything…like he was losing contact with reality and she was pulling him into a void where only the two of them existed. The strangest thing was that he felt as though he wanted that. He gazed in her wide eyes and felt as though he wanted to be there.

Just when he felt as though he was going to slip away from everything, the band stopped playing.

"Alright, we're just gonna take a short break but we'll be back soon."

The band got off the stage, and once Eric, Felicia and Axel had seen this, the looks on their faces were sparks of genius insanity. Before Adam knew it, Eric had dragged him up onto the stage and plopped him down in front of the microphone while Eric himself grabbed a bass, Felicia grabbed a second microphone, Axel got behind the drums, and Raptor joined them on guitar.

"Welcome to the better part of the evening, folks." Eric said. "It's time to go big or go home."

"Eric, I can't…"

"Lilith told me differently."

"Sorry, big brother!" Lilith squealed. "Just sorta slipped out."

Adam groaned and looked out at all the faces staring up at him in confusion. There was no sound that he could hear aside from his heavily beating heart trying to leap its way out of his chest. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move, let alone perform any other action. That is, until he saw Morrigan smiling at him, mouthing the words, "Knock 'em dead." He sucked in a breath and shook all of his tension out.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Axel tapped them in, and…

**SCENE CUT DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS…just kidding.**

Raptor began with an ominous-sounding guitar riff before Axel started whaling away on the drums and Eric jumped in with the bass. Adam recognized the song almost instantly, swearing he could have heard someone playing it on their radio earlier. He built up the words in his head, and once Felicia gave him a nod, he belted it. He remained rooted to the spot, but clutched the microphone with such strength that it displayed more confidence than he really had.

"_Burning here in the room_

_Feeling that the walls are moving closer._

_Silent scene, the dark takes me_

_Leads me to the ending of another day._

_I'm haunted."_

Immediately as he finished, the crowd let out a loud cheer and began jumping around. Felicia began prancing around the stage as she sang the chorus.

"_Tell me who you are, I am spellbound_

_You cannot have this control of me._

_Everywhere I go, I am spellbound_

_I will break the spell you put on me."_

Adam couldn't help but feel a smirk stretch itself across his face. Whatever this feeling was growing in his chest, it feel good. He wanted to let it out screaming like a maniac.

"Sheesh, I'm thinkin' just like Raptor…just as well. You need to be crazy to do something like this."

"_Velvet drapes, glowing candles _

_Silent whispers of words inside of my head._

_The night that comes, it waits for me_

_Lifts me to the ending of another day._

_I'm haunted."_

"_Tell me who you are, I am spellbound_

_You cannot have this control of me._

_Everywhere I go, I am spellbound_

_I will break the spell you put on me."_

The song seemed for all but a moment when Eric and Raptor went wild, shredding away on their respective guitars. Everyone continued to cheer and got especially loud when Eric suddenly rolled forward while he was playing. What they didn't know was that there was a well-placed window above with moonlight streaming in. The audience had gone from just smiling and nodding their heads tot eh music to straight-up moshing, and you could see that Raptor highly approved of this since he managed to start playing with his foot (don't ask) and give an audience member a high five.

Adam himself started banging his head to the beat and occasionally stopped to look up at the crowd, Morrigan in particular. She seemed very impressed, and though she was usually impressed by just about everything Adam did, this was an even more intense variation. She was gazing longingly at him, like she wanted some special alone time. At first he thought it was charming, but now it was just scaring him.

He shook the thoughts and prepared to sing again as Felicia brought the song into its final chorus. As soon as she finished the chorus once and began singing again, he chimed in the background.

"_Tell me who you are, I am spellbound_

_You cannot have this control of me._

_Everywhere I go, I am spellbound_

_I will break the spell you put on me._

_(Everywhere I go) I am spellbound._

_(Everywhere I go) I am spellbound._

_(Everywhere I go) I am spellbound._

_I will break the spell you put on me."_

The song wrapped up and the crowd gave out a loud round of applause. The five took a bow before getting off the stage, not realizing that the previous band was looking at them from behind the stage in pure envy. The rest of the party dashed forward to congratulate them, even Hsien-Ko who looked significantly happier than she had when Morrigan had jumped and screwed up their tender moment.

"Great job, guys!" Poison cheered. "That's probably one of the craziest things I've ever seen a couple of kids do!"

"I'll say." said a voice none of them recognized.

The man walking toward them was dressed in a very snappy tuxedo and had shaggy white hair. Poison recognized him almost instantly.

"About time you showed up."

"It's called being fashionably late, sweetheart." the man joked.

Poison chuckled before turning to her allies.

"Everyone, this is the close friend I was telling you about. This is Lee Chaolan."

"Good to meet you all." Lee said with a nod. "Now, Patty, here's that info you wanted."

Poison bit her lip slightly as Lee handed her a USB drive and Adam snickered slightly.

"'Patty'?" he asked.

Poison turned to him with a sigh.

"Yes. My full name is Patricia Wilson," she growled, slowly giving Lee a look of venom. "And despite me telling Lee quite frequently not to call me that…"

"Glad to be of assistance." Lee said. "So is that everything?"

"Yep. Trust me; it'll be doing the world a lot bigger of a favour than what the G Corporation is doing."

He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Excellent. I've gotta get going before I get recognized. Have a good night, kid."

With that, he left. Poison pocketed the USB drive and turned towards the rest of the group.

"Well, our work here is done. Let's head up and see what we can uncover."

The group began to follow her, but then Adam heard it. It was a voice he hadn't heard in a while, but it was unmistakably the voice of Sister Sophia issuing another warning.

"Hurry…he is outside."

"Oh, no…" Adam said.

He ran to the stage. Just as the jazz band was getting ready to start playing again, Adam grabbed the microphone from them and shocked the entire audience.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"

They moved at just the right time, because as sound as he said it, a loud explosion sounded from outside and blew the wall behind the stage wide open. Amongst all the screaming people, the rest of the group made their way to Adam and looked outside, with Morrigan and Eric being horrified by what they witnessed.

It was just like what had happened at Demezoi that night one year ago: there were vampires everywhere, but even worse was the colossal creature that was stomping around in the middle of the city. It was nearly as tall as the skyscrapers it brushed up against, and if Adam didn't know any better, he could have sworn this thing was a mummy. Right at that moment, its booming voice filled the air as it spoke.

"I will destroy any who stand in my way! This land will be mine!"

Morrigan gritted her teeth.

"Anakaris!"

_Well, that ain't good. And yes, I am aware that Lee Chaolan is from Tekken which is a Namco franchise, and let me ask this: why wasn't he in Street Fighter X Tekken?!_

_But regardless of that, here's my first update of 2013. It's certainly a long one, and since I've got school exams coming up, I probably won't be able to get anything out for a while, but don't you worry: Chapter Fifteen is coming. And by the looks of it, so far the only major Capcom franchises I haven't referenced so far are Ghost N' Goblins, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami. (Adam's prosthetic arm is a reference to Bionic Commando BTW) I'll be sure to change that soon enough. =)_

_Oh, and if you guys could go to my profile and check out the poll I've got there, it would be awesome. Thanks._

**SOUNDTRACK SO FAR**

_The village of Demezoi- _"Solitary Shell" by Dream Theater

_Adam and Morrigan- _"Life in Technicolor" by Coldplay

_The destruction of Demezoi- _"And Soon the World Will Cease to Be" by Amon Amarth

_Adam's death- _"Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri

_Adam versus Ryu- _Ryu's theme from Street Fighter IV

_Adam versus Morrigan- _"Sweet Dreams are Made of This" by Marilyn Manson

_Eric's song- _"Come Sail Away" by Styx

_Eric and Felicia- _"Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional

_Eric versus Jon- _"Bloodlines" by Dethklok

_Eric versus Raptor- _"Black Widow of la Porte" by John 5 and Jim Root

_Eric and Raptor's song- _"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne

_Adam versus Lilith- _"Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore

_Adam and Lilith's song- _"The Islander" by Nightwish

_Lilith versus Axel- _Dr. Wily's stage from Mega Man 2 (SongeLeReveur version)

_S.I.N. base (hidden)- _"Playing With Danger" from Team Fortress 2

_S.I.N. base (detected)- _"Fly Routine" by Hostile Groove

_Adam and Chun-Li versus Rikuo and Juri- _Chun-Li's theme from Street Fighter IV

_Adam and Morrigan versus Hsien-Ko- _Sakura's theme from Street Fighter IV

_Raptor's poker game- _"Green Onions" by Booker T and the MGs.

_"The better part of the evening"- _"Spellbound" by Lacuna Coil


End file.
